Given A Sunset
by Days Are Numbered
Summary: Bella arrives in Forks just as the Cullens leave town. What kind of supernatural shenanigans is she bound to get herself into without the local vampire coven? Rewrite of the entire Twilight Saga, includes an OC and an odd pairing. Werewolf central. Read 'N Review. M for a reason, children. AU. Not originally dark, but it's getting there. Might include lemons, at some point.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own a goddamn thing. See? We're starting the M rating right off the bat, yay for me! Please leave a review for god's sake once you've read it, this has only been my life, you know. Am I doing the guilt thing well, yet? No? Well do it anyway. I won't ask again. On with the story!

**Thursday, September 12 10:34 A.M. Mountain Time Zone Phoenix, AR BPOV**

Isabella Marie Swan pushed a lock of dark brown hair out of her chocolate brown eyes, looking up at the airport's Arrivals and Departures board, searching for her flight. Her mother, Renee, found it first. "Look, Bella! There it is, looks like you'll be leaving out of Gate 25, Terminal D." Her mother turned to look at her, and smiled soggily at her only child. Bella tried not to laugh, her mother had been doing nothing but crying over her departure for the past week, and it had been an amusing and almost welcome change- for once, it was Renee who worried over her daughter, not the other way around.

Bella still smiled at her mother, set her carry-on on the ground next to her, and held her arms open. "Come on, one last hug." Renee let out a sob before throwing herself into her daughter's embrace, and Bella saw her brand-new step-father, Phil, looking at the both of them with a sort of proud smile. Bella liked Phil, he was good-looking, and he was amazing at sports as he was a professional baseball coach. He was, in a way, responsible for Bella's leaving home. Bella frowned internally. Technically, she wasn't leaving home at all. Home to her had always been back at Forks, Washington with her father, Charlie. It certainly was different from where she and her eccentric mother had lived for the past ten years, here in Phoenix, Arizona. So Phil, because he and Renee were temporarily moving to sunny Florida for his coaching position, Bella got to move back in with Charlie and finish up school at home. Her mother was a mess, never the less.

As Bella stood there with her mother bawling into her shoulder, she mock-glared at Phil as he couldn't help it anymore and began to outright laugh at his new wife's theatrics. "Renee, honey please, Bella's gonna miss her flight if you don't let go." Renee bawled louder, and Phil had to physically muffle his laughter with a hand over his mouth, his eyes twinkling in amusement. Apparently, Renee still heard him. Renee whipped around with a glare in her eyes that had sent lesser men running, before. "Are you laughing at me and my emotional pain right now, Phil?" Phil grinned broadly and spread his hands out in front of himself in innocence. "No ma'am. I am planning on laughing with you, as soon as you stop being ridiculous." Renee huffed, but both women knew the only reason Renee put up with his honest, blunt answers was because Renee adored that he always told her the truth, and he had never, ever tried to soften it for her because he thought she couldn't handle it. Bella had been raised, by both parents, to appreciate a relationship with equality on both sides, and to be wary of any relationship in which one felt constant pressure from the other party to be submissive. Bella was mature for her age, sure, but that didn't mean that every now and then she didn't take a leaf out of her mother's book and enjoy being a free spirit. Bella enjoyed freedom, but she also liked to be safe. One reason as to why, although pretty and well liked in Phoenix, she'd never had a boyfriend. Renee sought to change that as soon as Bella got to Forks, if she ever got there.

Bella checked the Arrivals and Departures board one last time and gave Phil a quick hug, then shouldered her carry-on. "Mom, I will call you before I go to bed tonight, ok? Charlie's meeting me at the airport and I guess he's got some company coming over for some game, but other than that it'll be an early bed-time. I've got school first thing tomorrow." Renee bobbed her head enthusiastically. "Are you excited, are you nervous? Do you think any of the boys will be cute? Do you know if the kids you hung out with a couple summers ago will be there?" Bella smiled. Her mother always asked questions like that, Bella was used to it by now. "I'm excited, not nervous, I don't know if the boys will be cute, and no, Mom, I don't know if Jacob, Quil, Embry, or Ava is going to be there." Bella secretly hoped that they would be there, even though she couldn't see them at school, as they went to the Indian reservation school at their res town called La Push, and Bella was going to Forks High School. But the five of them had hit it off the last time Bella visited Forks, five years ago when she was thirteen. And thinking about them just made Bella more anxious to be on her way. "Now Mom, I really have to go. I love you, ok? I'll call you tonight, Phil can you make sure Renee remembers?" Renee would lose her head if not attached to her shoulders, as both Phil and Bella were well aware. Phil agreed, and Renee announced that she was anything but impressed by her family's unflattering view of her organization skills. After one last round of goodbyes, and I love you's, Bella was walking down the gang plank to the plane, and settling into 13B, by the window. Bella hurried into her seat, looking out the window eagerly, smiling to herself.

She was going home.

She was going to Forks.

And she had no idea of what awaited her.

**Thursday, September 12 5:12 P.M. Pacific Time Port Angeles, WA BPOV**

Bella stumbled a bit walking out of the gangway from the tiny plane that had flown her from Seattle to Port Angeles. She walked a little bit away from the people still rushing off of the plane and began to scan the small crowd of people in front of her for Charlie, or hell, any familiar face. She couldn't keep the small grin off of her face that she had because she knew she was so close to home. A yell sounded over the noise of the crowds that sounded vaguely like her name, and as Bella watched, her father emerged from the crowd, waving a hand proudly at his daughter, who smiled wider and ran up to greet him. "Dad, hey! Oh it's so good to see you finally! I missed you at the wedding; I had to handle Renee all by myself." She looked at him accusingly, but jokingly and he laughed. Bella supposed her father was still good-looking, he had a full head of the same chocolate locks she sported, complete with a rather fetching handlebar mustache. When Bella was little and Charlie'd put her in his lap, she was content to play with his mustache for hours on end. Bella hugged Charlie, who blushed a little and scooped up her carry on. "Come on, Bells, let's go get your other luggage and-" Bella waved a hand. "This is it, Dad, I didn't bring anything else with me, the rest of my stuff's being shipped here." Charlie smiled. "That sounds like my girl, let's get you home and get some supper in you, you've gotta be hungry."

Bella made small talk with Charlie as well as she could with the pressing crowds and loud noises swirling around them as he led her to the Pick Up/Drop Off zone at the entrance of the airport. Bella's eyes landed on a police cruiser sitting almost garishly in the lights of the airport and mentally slapped herself. Charlie was the Chief of Police back at Forks, and the only car he drove was… "Sorry, Bells, but I had to bring the cruiser. Besides, since I'm a police officer, I get to park wherever I want to." Bella rolled her eyes at her father's mischievous face, and smiled. "Is this your way of rebelling, Chief Swan?" Charlie's eyes sparkled as he laughed and popped the trunk of the cruiser and put her carry-on back there. He gave his only daughter an innocent look. "My dear, I do believe that I plead to Fifth." Bella got in the car before throwing her head back and laughing at her father's reference to the Constitution.

Charlie swung into the driver's seat and handed her something. Bella looked down, and to her complete amusement, a hat lay there in her lap. Not just any hat, but a policeman's hat. Bella smiled at her father and put it on, fastening her seatbelt before saying, "Let's go home so I can take a shower, you can watch the game, and we both can get some dinner." Charlie pulled the cruiser out of the parking spot and began driving out of the airport towards Forks before replying, "Amen to that, sister." Bella turned to her father and began to question him about the game awaiting him at home, not really listening to his answers, but just enjoying being with her father for the first time in years.

During a lull in conversation after Bella asked why they called a hockey puck a 'biscuit', she changed tracts. "Dad, do you remember a girl I used to hang out with by the name of Ava Uley?" Her father frowned. "Well, yes, as a matter of fact I do. It's, unfortunately enough, Ava Walker now. Her mother remarried to a non-Quileute and just left town a few days later. Took her daughter with her, but left the boy." Bella frowned. "You mean her older brother, Sam?" Charlie nodded. "That's the one. Been out there at his mother's a few times when she was still here, always calls from the neighbors about screaming. His mom had terrible nightmares." Bella looked out the car window, studying the passing scenery in the fading light. "What happened to them, do you know?" It was Charlie's turn to frown. "Well, from what Sam told me, they moved to some little town up in Montana called Kalispell." Bella's eyebrows drew together as she tried the name out, carefully pronouncing every syllable. "Kalispell. Huh. So who's going to be joining us this evening to watch your game?" Charlie grinned. "A couple guys from the rez. Harry Clearwater, Billy Black, and Harry's wife Sue's forcing their daughter to come visit you. Name's Leah." Bella nodded a slight smile on her face. "I remember them. Leah and I have been emailing each other on and off since the last time I came here, Sue put her up to it, but I hope I can say that we're friends."

Charlie grinned as Forks came into view. "Take a good look around, Bells, this is Forks." Bella looked out the car windows with an almost determined look on her face, like she was determined to see everything about the town in one glance. "It hasn't changed much up here, I'm glad of that. I might be able to get around this town without getting lost." Charlie pulled into a familiar driveway, and Bella exited the cruiser and looked fondly on her childhood home. Charlie pulled her carry on from the trunk and motioned her inside. Bella didn't hesitate to unlock the door with the key Charlie'd given her and she smiled as she opened the door, flinging it wide. She turned to her father, and gave him an unexpected hug.

"I'm home, Dad."

"'Bout time."

Bella was up in her room, which looked just like she'd left it five years ago, when a knock sounded on her door and a female voice called out, "Bella, you better be decent, it's Leah." Bella called back, "I am, now open the damn door!" Leah stepped rather gracefully into the room and Bella immediately felt a wave of jealousy. Leah had long jet black, silky hair and liquid black, almond shaped eyes that landed on you with a certain precision, and she was gorgeous. Leah cocked an eyebrow at Bella's scrutiny. "What?" Bella frowned. "Not only are you kick-ass in your emails, but you're stunning, too?" Leah made a face and, so quick Bella almost didn't see it, grabbed a small pillow that sat on her rocking chair and threw it at Bella's face. Bella laughed and threw it back to Leah when the elder girl replied, "Shut up, like you're not gorgeous yourself."

Leah tossed her hair back and sat down on the rocking chair, an easy smile on her face. "You're a lot smaller than I thought you'd be. You talk up a big storm in your emails, and you turn out to be, what, 5'4"?" Bella planted her hands on her hips. "I will have you know, Leah Hannah Clearwater, that I am proud to be 5'5". And…yeah. So there." Leah snorted in amusement. "You crazy chick." Bella turned and looked out her window at the multitude of yellow lights in the distance that Bella knew was La Push. "What's going on at the rez?" Leah snorted. "Some family that lived in town that's been giving the Council of Elders hell just moved away today. Everyone's really excited about the Cullen's being gone." Bella snorted as she continued folding the small amount of clothing she had brought with her. "That's very mature of them." Leah smiled. "Oh, you betcha. Old Quil even broke out some moonshine for the older kids." Bella outright laughed at that. "So La Push is getting, basically a holiday, and I get to go to school tomorrow." Leah settled back more into the chair. "Life's a bitch, and so am I!"

Bella and Leah talked for nearly four hours, and suddenly it was nine thirty and Leah was driving the drunken men home back to the rez where they would proceed to get even more wasted. Bella waved goodbye as she shook her head in amusement. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed the phone, before dialing Renee's number. It went to voicemail, and Bella left a message stating the days events, told her mother she loved her and would call tomorrow. "Hey, Dad?" "Yeah, Bells?" "Do you think I could go down to La Push tomorrow, see Sam Uley?" Her father didn't answer, but instead appeared at the doorway into the living room. He stared at his daughter with the face of a man who knew exactly what was going on. "You're really worried about the Uley girl, aren't you?" Bella shrugged. "Honestly, I think I'm more curious than anything else." Charlie nodded his head absentmindedly.

They stood in silence for a moment before Charlie headed back into the room to watch the game while calling back over his shoulder, "Sure, Bells, but remember to be home before dark, ok? You'll have to get a ride from Leah." Bella winced. Sam and Leah had been going out for a few years, but around ten months ago they'd broken up. It was a mutual break up but Bella still didn't think Leah would want to go looking for her ex. "Alright, Dad." She'd have to get a ride from someone else, but if she couldn't she'd just hope Leah liked her as much as she seemed too, because the more Bella thought about Ava, the more determined she became to knowing what happened to her. Bella showered, got dressed, set out her clothes for the next day, set an alarm and fell into her bed, exhausted by the days events. She dreamed of a man, robed in black, who wavered in front of her view like a mirage before settling into the form of a big, black, powerful, wolf.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Again, no I do not own the Twilight series. Blah Blah Blah. A/N at the end. Blah Blah Blah.

**Friday, September 13 Forks, WA BPOV 2:21 AM**

I opened my eyes in the dark, feeling around for my ringing alarm clock, cursing to myself about not changing the time on it since I had left Phoenix. It was two o'clock in the morning, Forks time. My searching hand finally met the buzzing, portable camping clock.

I hit the snooze button rather forcefully, and sat up, rubbing my eyes. A cool breeze floated in through my window and I paused. I didn't remember leaving it open. I stood, and began to walk towards it when my eyes landed on my rocking chair-and someone inside it.

I felt my eyes bug out, my heart sped up to unreal speeds, and I was so terrified I couldn't manage the screams that were held frozen in my throat. The man in the chair spoke quietly, in a musical voice. "Hello, there. Don't be frightened, I won't hurt you."

I managed a scoff and began to inch towards my bedroom door, hoping to get to Charlie. "Yeah right. You're in my room." My words were much louder than his. After all, I was hoping for him to get caught.

He shifted in my chair and a sliver of light fell across his face. I froze where I stood. Not because of his handsome features, or his bronze, windblown hair, or even the crooked smile lying on his face, no. I froze because his eyes were blacker than night, and as I looked down at his hands; I saw that they were covered in blood.

My heart beat even faster, and I began to wonder if Charlie and his gun could save me from this man, after all. I cleared my throat, trying not to let him know just how close I was to peeing myself from fright.

"Why are you here?" HE shook his head. "I was out, hunting, you know. I should have been sated. But one whiff of your lovely scent…" Here he paused and threw his head back, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled. His eyes locked onto mine. "And I'm thirsty again."

I shook my head slowly. Obviously this man was delusional, creepy, just plain old weird. What the hell was he talking about, hunting, and being thirsty, being sated, what the hell is wrong with him. My feet slowly shuffled me back further, and he rose from the chair, and my heart sank. He was just too big. I'd never be able to escape.

He opened his mouth to say something, but a wolf's howl filled the night. I didn't remember ever hearing wolves howling before in all my time at Forks, but this one sounded very close. The man in front of me whipped towards me and reached out a finger and scraped it along my forearm. His finger was very cold and very hard, like marble. His nail was so sharp it drew blood on my skin.

I didn't know what to do, so I simply stood stock still with fear as his lowered his head and licked the blood from my arm. _Licked it._ I couldn't contain my disgust, but that disgust turned to pure, unadulterated fear as he raised his head, with an open mouthed smile. The man smiled, showing off gleaming, white, even teeth interrupted by two long, sharp looking fangs. Actual fucking _fangs._

Another howl sounded outside, much closer than the first and the man hissed, actually hissed. He spun towards me and said, "I'll see you again, love. Maybe not soon, but I will see you again. You taste better than you smell." And then, before I could blink, he was gone, the only proof he had been there was the brand new cut on my arm and the hysterical sobs welling in my throat.

I began screaming, long, loud screams as I fell to the floor of my bedroom, fear washing over every part of me. My door burst open, and I screamed louder, in fear that the man had returned. But Charlie's worried face stepped into my line of vision, and I immediately threw my arms around him, sobbing.

We probably sat on the floor for twenty minutes until I was calm enough to tell him something of what happened. "I woke up a few minutes ago…there was a man, Dad…he was sitting in my rocking chair...I was so scared…" Charlie patted my back rather awkwardly, and said, "There there, kiddo, it's ok. It was just a dream, sweetheart." I paused, and opened my mouth to tell him no, it wasn't a dream.

Another howl sounded outside, and instead I found myself asking, "Since when are there wolves in Forks?" Charlie helped me stand while saying, "Yeah, they've been pretty active the last year or so. Never heard 'em this close before." I nodded, smoothing down my pj's, breathing in the way Renee's yoga instructor, from one of her many health fanatic kicks, had taught us.

Charlie looked over and studied me. "Now are you ok, do you need anything?" I shook my head. _He's gone for the night._ I bid Charlie a goodnight, and clambered back into bed, managing to hit my newly injured arm on the headboard as I did so. I shut my eyes tight, willing myself to think of anything but the man who'd broken into my room.

I fell asleep to the sound of howling, and feeling immensely safer every time I heard them. I decided to reflect on that later.

When I woke up, at seven, this time, I was pleasantly surprised to see sunlight pouring in through the window. I walked over to said window and looked down at the ground below, hoping for some sort of footprints that the man had left last night. There wasn't a single print on the ground. I decided to act with Charlie and everyone else as if it had all been a dream. My arm throbbed.

_Unless you see the man somewhere, just don't tell anyone, they'll think you're crazy._ It was hard to disagree with that, so I forcefully shoved the issue out of mind and hopped into my closet, looking for my clothing. As I reached for a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, I mentally ran through my classes. _First is Spanish, then Biology II and English, then lunch, Trigonometry, and Gym. Yay, school._

I rolled my eyes at my poor attempt at sarcasm and yanked on the jeans, groaning when I realized I was still wearing my pajamas. In the resulting effort to take off both items of clothing I hit my elbow three times on the doorjamb to my closet because I was trying to rely on it for balance. Finally I simply laid down on the floor and managed to untangle jeans from cotton pants.

And proceeded to put the jeans on, inside out. I played with the idea of giving up for two seconds, before realizing I still had a good chance of making it to school early if I didn't eat breakfast. _Eh, I'm not hungry anyway._ I tugged my jeans off, turned them right side out and pulled them on again, tossing my tank to that I'd worn to bed over my shoulder and my t-shirt onto myself, a little proud that I'd managed to do that much. I quickly brushed my hair and teeth, rolling an elastic onto my wrist just in case. I made my way down the stairs, and said, "Morning Dad, are you ready?" He looked up from his morning paper and grinned, then tossed me a set of keys.

"Billy Black drove a red pickup up here last night that his son Jacob rebuilt. It's kind of your welcome home present." I stared down at the set of truck keys in my hands. "Really? I have an actual car?"

Charlie chuckled. "Go on, you're going to be late if you wait any longer. Have a good day, kiddo." I walked over to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. "You have a good day too dad. I'll be home in time to make you supper, I hope!" He waved me on out the door, smiling.

I looked at the monster sized pick-up in front of me and smiled. _That's right; Bella's got a car, now._ I hopped into the driver's seat and started her up, the engine happily roaring to life. I backed out of the driveway, and noticed when I looked at the passenger seat, panicked, that Charlie had already put my book bag in it. I grinned and headed towards the school.

When I parked next to a black SUV and wrestled my backpack out of the truck, a girl around my age peeked her head out of the SUV next to me and waved, excitedly. Her curly brown hair bobbed in the wind as she began talking, and her brown eyes began to glow with excitement. "Hi! I'm Jessica Stanley, and I know like, everyone here, but I don't know you so that means that you're either new here or I'm going crazy and forgetting people, I think the more likely answer is that you're a newbie, but you look like you know what you're doing so-"

Two other girls joined the first, one being a tall, gorgeous blonde with corn silk hair, and the other a shorter brunette who placed a restraining hand on Jessica, who was so worked up by now that every time she moved a hand in a descriptive movement, she nearly hit the pretty blonde girl in the face.

"Jess, calm down, ok? Don't scare her off." The other brunette turned to me and smiled. "I'm Angela Lee, that's Lauren Carter, and I think you've met Jess." I smiled and pushed my hair behind my ears. "I'm Bella, Bella Swan." Lauren's eyes widened in recognition. "You're the Chief's daughter, right?"

I nodded and Jessica hooked her arm through mine, startling me a little. "Well, in that case, we're friends already. I need a friend on the inside of the law." I couldn't help but laugh at Jessica's unrestrained behavior. Jessica began walking us all towards the school, still talking a million miles an hour about God knows what. I asked Lauren, who was standing beside me, "Is she always like this, or is it just me?" Lauren rolled her eyes. "She's always like this, but this is her being restrained." I nodded and smiled.

Angela leaned over an excited Jessica to ask, "What class do you have first?" I frowned and looked around the hallway in front of where we were standing. "I have Spanish but I have no idea where that is." Angela nodded in understanding. "I have Senor Gomez first hour too. Come on, it's better to be early with Gomez." We both waved good bye to Lauren and Jessica, and departed for Spanish.

I felt my head still reeling from the encounter. It had never been that easy to meet people in Phoenix. Had it? I decided I didn't care and settled down in a seat between Angela and the wall. Angela leaned over to me and began pointing out who other people were. "That's Mike Newton, Eric Farth, Tyler Smith, Ben Richardson, Alexis Knight…" And so on and so forth until I noticed she kept stealing glances towards the direction of Ben Richardson.

I grinned and asked, very quietly, "Ben keeps looking over here at us, are you guys' friends?" Angela's eyes widened and without looking at the boy in question, she asked, "Don't play with me Bella. Is he really looking over here?" I nodded casually, sneaking a glance over my shoulder, pretending to look at the clock and had to hide a grin when I noticed Ben staring at the back of Angela's rather pretty head, with dreamy smile on his face.

Angela smiled so broadly I thought her face would crack. When she spoke, her voice was soft but high in pitch with excitement. "Are you serious? I've only had a crush on him since fifth grade!"

I cocked an eyebrow playfully at her. "Six years, Angela?" She nodded, a sad look penetrating her sunny smile and I grinned. "Well, go over there and say hi, or something." I really had no idea what to do about boys, later confirmed when Angela gave me a strange look and smiled. I could see a little more than a hint of relief in her smile when she said, "You really have no idea how to flirt. Or at least not with Ben. He likes to go to the girl." I nodded, but I was still confused. _Why does it matter who goes to who, as long as someone's going?_

My thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the bell, and Senor Gomez made his way in. "Ok, ok Chico's and Chicas, I have received word that we have a new student, would Bella Swan stand up, por favor?" I winced, both at his poor Hispanic accent and the fact that I basically had to introduce myself.

I had a feeling this wasn't going to be as easy as getting to know Jessica, Angela, and Lauren. While surprised by the fact that they were actually taking to me, and an initial discomfort with Jessica's familiarity, and Lauren's snobbishness, I decided that out here, that's probably as good as it would get.

After Senor Gomez made me stand up and turn around and say, "Hola, amigos!" to the rest of the class, I sat back down, my face burning. I blushed altogether too often. I noticed a piece of folded white notebook paper resting on my Spanish book, and I opened it while Senor Gomez was engaged in a heated debate with a male student about whether or not he had been texting. He really wasn't very good at hiding it.

Someone, I'm guessing Angela, had written, _'He's a bit…eccentric but you learn to live with him. He's the easiest teacher in the whole school.'_ I glanced over at Senor Gomez. Who was awarding the male student with the coveted prize of copying three pages out of the book. And I smiled to myself. I wrote back, _'Then this should prove very interesting.'_ and then carefully tucked it under the edge of her notebook when Senor Gomez turned his back to the class.

Spanish went well, I guess. Boring, except for a few times when I would glance at Angela and notice that her eyes had glazed over and she wore a ridiculously dreamy smile.

I caught Ben staring at Angela's butt when we stood up to leave and I smiled to myself. _That is just beyond adorable._ My next two classes, Bio and English, went off without a hitch. They were immensely boring as well, and I knew no one in either of them. By the time lunch came around, I was dying for some company. Company that wouldn't stare awkwardly at me the way everyone had taken to. At least, it seemed like everyone.

I entered the lunch room, and looked around for a familiar face. I felt a hand wrap around my elbow and yank me towards a table in which sat Lauren and Angela. Looking over in alarm, I saw Jessica with an enthused smile on her face. "Bella! Hey! Ang says that you guys had a blast today in Spanish, apparently Tyler got his cell phone taken away _and_ he had to copy pages out of the book! He is such a bad liar, I swear. Are you hungry, wanna go get some food? No? Ok, suit yourself. Oh, by the way, thank you." I looked quizzically at her as she directed me to a seat next to Lauren and across from her. "Thanks for what?" Lauren began to pick at a banana on her tray and answered me, an utterly bored tone in her voice, much to Angela's chagrin. "For trying to convince Angela that Ben checking her out is not a figment of our imagination."

Jessica nodded, then launched off into a speech about Ben and Angela, and love at first sight, and as she prattled on, I was only half-listening to her. For a moment, it struck me what a completely normal conversation it was, and very often, the only person I'd talked to on a regular basis was Renee, and she was so wild and crazy it was hard to have a normal conversation with her sometimes. Ok, all the time.

Still. It was nice to be able to have a normal conversation. I was suddenly thrown a loop when instead of just asking lots of questions, Jessica asked one it sounded like she expected an answer to. "So can you come over today after school? I totally need help in Spanish, I hate it, and Ang says that you're a natural." I frowned. "Sorry, Jessica, but I have to go down to La Push today after school, and talk to an old friend's brother." I blushed when I thought of how old I sounded when I said stuff like that. How old was I, seventeen or seventy?

Jessica's pretty eyes widened. "Oh my _god_ you are such a genius, I can't believe I didn't think of this before!" I leaned back away from Jessica a little, the look in her eyes was kind of scary. Lauren glanced up at her and made a face, then asked me quietly, "Do you think we have to reboot her?" I gave her a helpless look, and Jessica snapped her fingers at both of us in an obvious attempt to grab our attention.

"No! Don't you see? First day of school Bonfire, the one we always have down at La Push! Let's invite some of the rez kids, make a real party out of it, and hook Ang up Ben! It's a win-win! I get to stare at the hot, sexy bodies of the natives, while Bella gets to meet people, you get to hang out with that Paul sex-god, and Ang gets Ben! God, I love myself!" She sat back, obviously pleased. I turned the idea over in my head. I wouldn't mind going to a party, at least for a little while. As in, thirty minutes or until I got so bored I considered taking out one of my textbooks to read. I'd only been to one party before, and it hadn't been impressive.

I shrugged. "I don't know if the rez kids will be up to a party, Leah tells me they all had some big hoo-ha down there last night. Also, why do you call them sex-gods?" Jessica gave me a speculative look. "You know kids from the rez? How well? Doesn't matter, we'll talk about it later. Anyway, Bella, you should see the guys that I've down there. They practically give you an orgasm by just letting you look at them." I blushed. What? I'm just bad at handling everything when it comes to talking about sex, no matter how many times my mother has forced me to talk about it.

Lauren nodded. "It's true. And Paul is _so_ good in bed." Her eyes glazed over for a second, and I immediately began wondering how on earth I'd managed to somehow get in with these girls. Jessica glanced over at me and sighed. "Ok, Bella. I can see that you're having a bit of a culture shock type moment here, so let me clue you in. The basis of our friendship," she gestured to Lauren, Angela, and herself. "has always been to make each other and ourselves, awesome. It sounds stupid, I know, but look at it this way. Angela is amazing with clothes, like she could take anyone's old ratty wardrobe, spin it around and make them look like a movie star. Lauren has seriously spectacular skills with hair. Nothing else to say, there are no words."

I tried to ignore the boredom I began to feel setting in as she continued. I'd never really been one for girl talk, but Jessica seemed to think that this was important. "And I, am the master of makeup. But there's one thing that we've been missing that'll allow us to get boys so easy it'll be funny. And that's the virgin look. That's where you come in." I froze, and looked around at the other girls. Angela took pity on me and said, "Basically, Jess wants to know how to act like one. Or at least, act like you. So tonight she's gonna be practically glued to your hip. If you want to go, that is." I sighed. It was boring conversation, sure, but at least I'd have friends at school. If I didn't die of old age before anything every happened, anyway. "Yeah, that's cool."

Jessica clapped her hands in excitement. "Ok, but here's a warning as you have gym later today, and the bell's about to ring. Mike Newton is bad news, ok? He's just really, really bad in the sack and his dick's shaped like a shepard's crook." I choked a little while taking a drink of water from the bottle I had in my backpack. "What?" She flapped a hand as if she could wave away my words. "Mike's gonna try and get in your pants because you're new here and you don't know his tricks. Unfortunately, he's always been the designated driver to La Push stuff because he's got the biggest car. So be nice, but don't be too nice, he's driving us to the bonfire tonight. Do you want to come over after school so I can get a little something done with that face of yours? Make it irresistible?"

I really had no idea what to say. Jessica did everything at a nonhuman speed, and I was finding it impossible to keep up with her. "Uh…" "Great! See you in the parking lot after school, ok?" And then she was gone. Lauren snorted next to me. "Oh yeah, you're in for it. She's so goddamn excitable." And then I decided it was high time to head down to the gym and try to sort out what had just happened.

_Ok. Number one, going to Jessica's house after school. Don't even want to know what she's going to make my face look like. Number two, going to a party, at La Push. Better call the Clearwater's and hope Leah will be there if I need saving from Jessica. And number three, avoid Mike Newton._ I sighed and rubbed my forehead. Today was a long day, and it wasn't even half over.

Avoiding Mike Newton was successful, and I was paired with Ben Richardson for gym, to Mike's obvious disappointment. Strange, he already had a partner. I took the opportunity to talk to Ben about Angela, when he had excitedly asked me how close we were.

"Why?" He ducked his head a little. "She's...yeah. I've kinda wanted to be her boyfriend for the last three years." I found myself a little shocked that any teenage boy would admit that in a gym full of his peers. Ben must want Angela bad. _Again, too adorable for words._ "I think you might have a shot." After that, Ben didn't talk too much because he was busy smiling really, really widely.

And an hour after school was out, I found myself in Jessica's house, in Jessica's room, sitting in Jessica's vanity chair, while Jessica herself applied makeup to my face. I was terrified of how this would turn out. I didn't think Leah would be very nice in her reception of me if I looked like a clown. Knowing Leah, she'd just laugh. I sighed inwardly. There was way too much estrogen floating around me right now for my comfort.

Lauren began tapping her feet at Jessica, and huffed a sigh of disappointment. "Jess, we have to be outside in five minutes, hurry the fuck up!" It struck me then and there that although similar in personality with Leah, Lauren and Leah would absolutely hate each other if they ever met. The thought made me smile, because I found myself becoming less fond of the blonde the more time I spent in her company.

Jessica finally put down the mascara wand. "Ok, Bella, time to look." I turned to the mirror, grimacing…and my mouth fell open. Jessica was right, she was an absolute artist. I didn't even look like me. Well, actually I did, but just so much better than normally.

Due to a light layer of concealer under my eyes and some blush applied softly to my cheekbones, my face looked like it was glowing. Jess had a surprisingly light touch with eye shadow and eyeliner, both of which had been a nightmare to endure as I had no idea what she was doing. But it looked awesome. My eyes looked large and shining, my lips full and pouty with a shine of peach lip gloss. Lauren smiled at me in the mirror, it was the first time I'd seen her do anything of the sort.

"Bella, come on, let's go. By the way, Jess has a swimsuit you can use if you want to go in the water." She leaned over as Jessica began doing touch ups on her own make up, (like she needed it I mean come on who uses that much mascara?)and she said, "Basically, that's Jess translation for; 'Bella, you are going to wear a swimsuit and like it.'"

I frowned heavily. _Long day, meet long night_. God, I was so looking forward to having some testosterone around, just to break up the tension and the utter bitchiness of Lauren and even Jessica sometimes.

I was so eager to talk to Sam. As we piled into Mike's truck, he pulled a face when Jessica got into the front seat instead of Lauren, I tried to conjure up an image of Sam from five years ago. I remembered him having black hair and black eyes, and prominent cheekbones. Other than that I couldn't really remember much.

I remembered his sister though. She was pale, like me, which was abnormal for a Quileute, but she had the customary dark brown hair, hers fell in straight sheets down to the small of her back, and that was when we were kids. I also remembered her having a very sarcastic approach to life, being very into books, and could probably quote every single movie on the planet. She had pretty blue eyes and a pretty smile. The only resemblance she claimed with her brother was personality wise.

My thoughts were torn from my forgotten friend when Jessica turned around in her seat and began launching questions at me concerning Phoenix. Later, Angela leaned over to me, while Jessica was preoccupied with flirting with Mike, and told me Jessica was thinking about going to college down in Arizona. _To become what, a housewife?_ I mentally scolded myself, but I honestly couldn't see Jessica want to become or actually becoming anything else. She was content with life like the one she lived right now. I realized that I didn't think she wanted it, or was ready for it to change.

When we finally arrived at La Push, and after Jessica manhandled-woman handled?-me into a bathroom and practically forced the swimsuit on me, a one piece thank God, I was marched down to Second Beach by Jessica and Angela.

"Where's Lauren?" I was desperate for someone who wasn't going to be touching me and talking to me all the time, after spending so much time with a chatterbox like Jessica, it was hard not to get annoyed. I was trying valiantly. Jessica flapped her hand in my direction, a habit I'd noticed. "Oh, she called the Paul person and she's probably off at his place having…fun." She said the last part while looking at me suggestively from under her eyelashes. I unconsciously backed away and Jessica laughed.

"Oh please, Bella, you do look pretty hot right now if I do say so myself, but I don't swing that way. Unless I am super-duper drunk, in which case, I apologize. No, not really I just like to have fun." I shook my head and let my mouth twist into a smile. Jessica was something, that was for sure.

We stepped onto the sand, and I looked around at the gathering of people next to a huge bonfire, searching for and finding Ben. I grabbed Angela's elbow and pulled the taller girl down to whisper, "Ben's over there, seriously go say hi!" She looked at me like I had lobsters crawling out of my ears, but before she could open her mouth to decline, a masculine voice said, "Hey, Ang."

Ben was standing next to us, two red plastic cups in his hands. He offered them to us and I declined, then turned away saying, "Jessica looks like she needs rescuing over there, see you later Angela." Angela didn't look like she heard me.

Jessica, in actuality, was nowhere to be seen, I was grateful for the silence. Since I didn't know anyone else there and I was reluctant to meet anyone else, I drifted away from the group and headed towards the water, dipping my toe in. The water was cool, but not as cold as I'd thought it would be.

"You planning on swimming or what?"

The very deep, very male voice terrified me, and true to form, as I yelped and jerked around to face whoever had spoken, I began to fall in an ungraceful heap. But he, whoever he was, grabbed my wrists and yanked me up at the last minute. I noticed, almost as an afterthought, that this boy's hands were burning hot. I looked up, and saw a very muscular chest standing an arms length away from me. I craned my neck, gasping at this man's sheer size.

He had to be 6'7", and over 250 of pure muscle, with eight pack abs, amazing pecs, and the most spectacular arms I'd ever seen. Even his shoulders had muscles. Who has muscles on their freaking shoulders?

I looked further up into the boy's face. My eyes widened further. This was no boy, but a man. He had short, cropped, silky looking black hair, a strong jaw, roman nose, and sharp cheekbones slashing across his face. His mouth was twisted into a grin, but it was his eyes that captured me. Black, deep, fathomless. I felt like I was getting lost in his eyes. I dropped my own from his and said nervously, "I'm Bella, Bella Swan."

He cocked his head to the side. "Chief Swan's daughter." It was phrased kind of like a question, but something in his voice, his wonderfully deep voice, made it sound like a statement. He took my hand in his, the much larger digits engulfing and swallowing my own. "I'm Sam Uley."

My mouth dropped open in shock. This was my childhood best friend's brother? "You're Ava's brother?" His face broke out into a full fledged, sunny grin. "You remember little Ava?" I nodded. "Well, yeah, we hung out all the time whenever I came down here." He let go of my hands and I almost immediately missed their warmth. "Well, my sister's up in Kalispell Montana with my mom right now," an imperceptible, indecipherable emotion crossed his black eyes, "but Ava's coming home to live with me soon." I immediately remembered that Sam was older that Ava and I.

"Right, you've got to be twenty, right?" His smile turned into a cocky grin. "You flatter me, Bella, but I'm the ripe old age of twenty two." He looked me up and down, his smile still in place. "You sure don't match my memory." The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them, and I blushed furiously. Before I could apologize, he let out a bark of laughter, and replied, "Yeah, I imagine so. You don't look much like you used to either, kid."

I rolled my eyes and pushed at his chest. "Please, I'm seventeen I'm almost an adult." He shrugged his massive shoulders. "Still a kid to me. But probably not to that guy over there who's been watching our entire interaction. His face is really red, I wonder if he's breathing." I looked over, ok around, one of Sam's shoulders to see Mike Newton glaring at Sam's back. His face was indeed, very red.

I giggled at the sight. "He's been staring at me ever since I arrived." A mischievous smile came over Sam's face. "Should we continue to make him jealous?" He raised his eyebrows and I found myself nodding and agreeing. "Hell yeah."

Sam did something then that made me immediately regret that decision, though. Before I could even process what had happened, he had scooped me up easily in his huge arms and ran into the surf. I screamed as the now icy surf splashed up against me. I clutched at Sam's body, one arm locking around his neck while the other hand was braced against his chest. His skin was really hot, like he had a fever. Before I could ask him about it, though, he dunked us both unceremoniously into the water. My hands clutched at him so he couldn't get away.

We broke the surface of the water, me still being held in his arms like I weighed nothing. His grinned down at me, and I glared at him. "That was _not_ part of my plan!" He threw his proud head back and laughed, I could feel the rumbling beneath my fingers from where they rested on his chest. I blushed suddenly, taking in the position of our bodies. No one had ever held me like this in my memory.

Sam's laughter proved infectious, as I soon joined in, if only to cover up the fact that I had fallen silent. He turned in the waves, which were up to stomach height on him. I saw two more hulking giants approaching us through the waves. I felt my mouth drop. I asked quietly, probably too quiet for Sam to hear over the waves, "Jesus, what the hell do they put in this water up here?" Sam laughed again, the sound making me smile.

The other two boys, more like men, finally came to a stop infront of us. Both sported the same amazing muscles, well not quite the same, as Sam, but the one on the left seemed to sport a lot more definition than the one on the right. Sam jerked his chin towards the man on the left. "Bella, meet Paul LaHote, and Jared Cameron." I waved at both of them and Paul said, "Come on, man its getting dark, let's go back to the house and get some real food. All these guys have up here is hotdogs." The disgusted look on Paul's face was kind of adorable looking.

I bit my lower lip, trying to hide a smile. Sam turned to me and asked quizzically, "You wanna come back to my place for a while?" I froze a little, and he shook his head, laughter visible in his eyes. "Come on, Bella, my sister's supposed to call tonight, I thought you might want to talk to her." I blushed and nodded, not trusting my tongue. My tongue rebelled and spoke anyway. "Yeah, sorry. But some guy broke into my room last night so I'm a little reluctant to spend time with anyone of the male gender."

Sam's face showed surprise, but he covered it when he said, "Yeah, there's been a lot of break in's here at La Push, too. Crazy people, right?" I laughed in relief and nodded. When we got to shore, I moved to get down from Sam's arms, I blamed his amazing body and handsome features for my lack of social skills. What little I had, I seemed to lose when it came to him. I put that on my to do list to think about.

Sam's arms tightened around me. "Where do you think you're going?" I blushed. "Well, um…I thought that…You know, I don't usually…I don't …Um…" He laughed at my predicament but waited for me to spit it out. "I thought you wanted me to get down. I'm altogether too talkative when it comes to you." He grinned. "Nah. I think I like you just where you are."

I rolled my eyes, and he chuckled. We passed by a stunned Lauren and Jessica, at whom I shrugged helplessly then waved to. "I'll be back!" Lauren burst out laughing. It occurred to me that her hair had been down before, now it was up in an extremely messy ponytail, like someone had tangled it.

Sam approached a monstrously huge white truck, and I deemed it proportional to its massive owner. He popped open the passenger side door, and set me inside. I smirked at him. "I'm getting your leather all wet." A flash went off in his eyes, and whatever he was thinking brought a large, crooked smile to his face.

He shook his head, still smiling, and walked over to the other side of the car and swung himself in easily. I buckled up and watched him as he did so too. I asked curiously, "How do you know Paul and Jared?" It might have been the shadows the trees cast into the cab of the truck, but I thought I saw his shoulders tense, then relax.

"Been friends for ages. More like brothers, I guess you could say." He smiled to himself. "We certainly fight like brothers." I leaned forwards a bit, and then immediately sapped my forehead. "Shit!" At Sam's quizzical glance, I explained, "I left my clothes at the beach." Sam pulled out his phone and said, "I'll call Paul and get him to get them, if that's ok with you." He glanced at me and I nodded.

Like I'd said before, I was in desperate need of some testosterone, and Sam's particular brand of testosterone was proving addicting. For some strange, unknown reason, I felt…safe with him. Like I knew he'd protect me from anything. _You're getting ahead of yourself, Bella, way ahead._ I turned to look out the window, ignoring Sam's short conversation with Paul. Forks was actually a lot prettier than I remembered. The trees were really, really green.

I jerked out of my stupor when Sam asked me, "Do you know Lauren Carter well?" Without looking at him, I answered, "Not well, no. I'm kind of being forced to be her friend because if I'm not, I won't have any, and even I'm not that anti-social." I frowned at myself. _Since when in hell did I talk so much, and so freaking honestly?_ I shook the thought from my head and asked Sam, "Why do you ask?"

He shook his head, smiling. "Paul's gotten wrangled up with her. I think he's finally found his match, she's just about as bitchy as he is." I laughed. "Yeah, I definitely got that vibe. From her at least. I'm not sure about Paul, he seemed nice." Sam shrugged. "Eh, he gets like that the first time he meets a really pretty girl." I blushed. We didn't speak again until Sam pulled into the driveway of a home. He turned to me, and asked with a smile on his face, "You ready?"

**A/N**: So hey, there, how's it going? I'd like to point out a few things, this was kind of a filler chapter, and Bella's really confused about stuff right now, that's going to be resolved in later chapters. Next chapter we see Sam getting a little…worked up over Paul's antics. It's way late at night right now though and I have to go to bed. Thanks to the one person who has reviewed so far. I am so, so, so, SO, sorry for that really boring part in the middle when Jessica is just freaking talking but I think that that's how a normal day for Bella at school is going to like. She's going to be a little bored around the girls, but she still likes them. Another thing, Emily is NOT Sam's imprint in this story. NOT. She does make an appearance later. Leah and Sam are still civil towards each other. Jared has NOT imprinted on Kim yet. Paul's a little OOC, if you're following that monstrosity that SM created from NM to BD. Jesus, I have nightmares about that shit. And, yes, the encounter with Edward. Being explained later on. Bella's head's spinning a bit from the fact that everything is moving so quickly, but things'll slow down a bit next chapter. Hopefully the next few chapters will be longer. Again, Read 'N Review, ok? Please? Shit, I broke my promise and asked. Oh well, whatevs! God, I'm an idiot. No promises about the next chapter's up date. I have a shitload of schoolwork. Damn teachers.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own anything. Except the character Ava. And most of the plot. The rest, regretfully, belongs to SM. A/N down at the bottom. Read on, my beauties!

**Friday, September 13 6:34 P.M. Forks, WA BPOV**

Sam's house was two stories tall, in worn red brick, with a red front door and large windows. It looked like the kind of home you usually think about when you envision a cottage in the woods. There was a pathway of rocks to the front door, and I saw that it also led off to the side of the house was a large rectangle of dark brown, healthy looking dirt. At my questioning glance towards it, Sam shrugged. "Ava wants to try gardening when she gets back. Personally, I'm hoping she likes cooking. The only thing I can do is barbeque." I smiled as he held open the front door for me and I stepped in. "You're a poet and you didn't know it."

The first floor looked very wide and open. The living room area held three large patchwork couches, a coffee table and a stack of board games beside the wall that was as tall as I was. The dining room area had a long table, fit for fourteen people. I looked over at the rustic and rough looking table, it kinda looked like it was handmade. Before I could ask, Sam said, "Paul gets bored easily, he likes to work with his hands. He made the table and chairs for me a couple years back with Jacob Black, Quil Aterea, and Embry Call." I ran a hand over the smooth surface of the wood. "He's very talented." Sam nodded and motioned into another room.

The next room was the kitchen, and oh what a sight it was. There was a long island with barstools, stainless steel sink and oven/stovetop and this huge fridge, and lots of overhead cabinet space and countertop space. The cabinets were the same tawny colored wood as the table, and they also looked a little rough, like they were handmade too. At my arched, questioning eyebrow, Sam grinned and nodded proudly. "Paul, Jared, and I did this part. It was a hell of a lot of work, and Paul was an ass to deal with, but it turned out." I continued to gaze around the kitchen in awe. I whispered dramatically, "Please let me cook in your kitchen." He threw his head back in laughter. I laughed a bit too, but I was dead serious. "Sam, I will die tonight if I don't get to. Don't you trust me enough?" He nodded, his grin spread wide over his face.

"Bella, you do what you want in here, you can't be a worse cook than any of the rest of us." I smiled, and practically ran to the fridge, surveying its contents. "How much do you guys eat?" I looked him over trying to anticipate his answer, (involuntarily memorizing his muscles) and he said, "About enough to feed a third world country." I glanced up at his face, man was he tall, and saw that he was only half joking. I perked up. "I'll make two pans of casserole, then, one to take home with me, and you guys can share the other one." He gave me a strange look. "Are you sure you want to do this, Bells?" I paused, and smiled. He'd called me Bells. "Sam Uley, cooking makes me happy, and being denied the right to cook makes me unhappy." I arched an eyebrow. "Now do you want to make me unhappy?" He laughed and just shook his head. "Crazy chick."

I shook my own head. What had gotten into me? I usually never felt this happy or content around anyone, and I'd never flirted in my life… _It's Sam._ I realized, as I took ingredients out of the fridge, that I had never felt…safe with anyone like I did Sam. It was ridiculous and weird, but it was definitely something I needed after last night. Sam made me feel like myself, like I could really be Bella around him. All too often I had to be too grown up, too mature, when I was living with Renee because she was like a child herself, and one of us had to be an adult. It worked out in the end, but sometimes I couldn't help feeling that I had lost a lot of my childhood. I was a little too serious for most kids my age, and I tended to be a loner. Being new in town must have been what worked magic on my social life. Or it might have been the fact that Sam was probably just being nice to me for Ava's benefit. Whatever the case, I decided not to question it.

I began to hum quietly as I dropped some chicken into a cast iron skillet on the stove in some oil and butter to fry. I busted around the kitchen, occasionally looking out the large window above the sink and the other above the stove to study the outside of the house. Sam strolled in just as I was chopping up some garlic. He grinned. "You know, all you need is an apron, and you could be the perfect housewife." I rolled my eyes. "Please, my expectations for life are higher than a simple housewife." His grin widened. "So a housewife and a mother?" I threw an oven mitt at him but he just caught it in mid air, grin still in place. I turned back to the four pans in front of me and began to layer in the cheese, chicken, green beans, and the partially cooked bowtie pasta noodle. Sam began to say something, but the front door banging open and the sound of Jared and Paul emerging from outside was louder than whatever Sam had to say.

Both boys froze when they saw me in the kitchen, and Jared glanced curiously at Sam. "Uh, Sam?" Paul jerked out of his trance and threw a wad of clothing at Sam. "These are her clothes." He jerked his thumb towards me. "They're covered in sand, and I think that might be marshmallow on the shirt." Sam just stared at him and Paul grinned a bit before explaining further, "That innocent little party's gotten pretty rowdy, and that Jessica girl was drunk off her ass-you know what, it's better that you don't know." Sam nodded, then glanced at me. "You mind wearing one of my shirts?" I shook my head. I didn't see another option, as both my clothes were icky and I couldn't exactly go running around Sam's house in a swimsuit. _That's not the reason you're so comfortable with it._ I elected to ignore that particular thought.

Paul leaned over the pans of food and sniffed the air. "What the hell is this, it smells good. Nothing ever made here smells good." I laughed. "You're smelling the chicken- hey!" I grabbed a wooden spoon from nearby and whacked his hand when he reached to steal a hunk of chicken. Paul snatched my forearm in a tight, burning grip. Paul's hands were burning up, just like Sam's had been. My eyes flew to his, a protest on my lips, but I froze when I met his eyes. They had turned from a warm, slightly mocking brown to hard and icy. I felt my breath start to come faster. I knew that Paul wasn't the man that had been in my bedroom last night, but in that moment, they just looked so similar…their eyes held the same emotion. Indifference. My eyes widened my heart beginning to pound as his grip on my arm tightened and he bared his teeth in an animalistic way. "Don't ever hit me." Before I could respond, Sam's broad russet colored back appeared inches in front of me, separating me from Paul. He spoke. "Paul. Let her go." When Paul didn't obey, a rumbling sound like crashing boulders rose from the depth of Sam's chest. The sound seemed oddly appropriate, but almost…inhuman.

"Outside. Now." There was no room for argument in Sam's hard, deep voice; and faster than I could watch, Paul was out the door. Sam glanced over his shoulder at me and then at Jared before stalking out the door behind Paul. I rubbed my arm furiously, trying to erase the memory from my mind. I concentrated on my breathing again, starting when Jared spoke up, saying, "Yeah, Paul gets like that sometimes. You'd think that since he just had sex not two hours ago, he'd be a happy camper." Jared ignored my blush and continued talking. "So I'm sorry, Bella. He's just got some serious anger issues." Jared smiled to himself, like he was thinking about an inside joke that he knew I wouldn't get. I huffed and turned back to the food. I asked him over my shoulder, "Well, do you want to help me with this, at least do something useful?" He chuckled at my biting tone. "Well at least you're not as delicate as you look." As he walked over to me, I scoffed. I'd run both my own life and my mother's since I was eight. So I was definitely a lot tougher than I looked. I sighed, trying to wrap my head around what happened. One thing was for sure, something else was going on here in Forks. The man from last night had definitely seemed inhuman, and these boys, though not like the man, were giving off a similar vibe.

I decided to try and get my mind off of it for a while by engaging Jared in conversation. "So, how old are you and Paul?" _Nice Bella, good topic!_ Jared just smiled. "I'm twenty one and Paul's nineteen." I felt my jaw drop. "Are you serious? You guys look like you're twenty five or something!" Jared laughed. "Yeah, we get that kind of thing a lot. How old are you?" I reached for the cheese, which he handed to me and I resumed making dinner. "I'm seventeen." Jared looked taken aback. "Only seventeen? No offense, but you really don't act like you're seventeen." I shrugged and quipped, "It's just my maturity surpassing yours, don't worry. I'm sure you'll catch up in a few decades." Jared threw his head back in laughter and I allowed myself a smile. It wasn't often that I made people laugh. "You should really use that line of Paul, that'd be hilarious!" I frowned. "No, I think I'll leave Paul alone." He groaned.

"No, Bella that's exactly what you don't do to a guy like Paul. You've got to let him know you trust him, you feel comfortable around him, and he'll eventually lay off the asshole-like tendencies. A bit." I grinned. "I'm sure. Pass the chicken, will you?" He did, then asked, "Weren't you friends with Sam's little sister, Ava?" I smiled. "Yep. She, Jacob Black and I were partners in crime when we were younger." He smiled broadly. "Oh yeah, I remember Sam telling stories about some of the stuff you guys did when you were younger. Ava's a blast, and Jake's awesome. I know it's kind of an oxymoron to be friends with your best friend's little sister, but she's awesome to hang around. Her sarcasm gets me every single time." I grinned. "You've got no idea. This one time, when Ava and I were thirteen and Jake was twelve, we went down to First Beach the first day of summer vacation, and there was this life guard there. And Ava walks up…"

We swapped stories of 'heroics' from our younger years, and after a particularly rousing tale about one of Jared's favorite 'Adventures', as he called them, Jared was in tears from laughing so hard, and I was lying on the floor trying to remember what breathing felt like. Moisture was leaking from the corners of my eyes, but I was able to see Sam's looming form stand over me before dropping a wad of clothing on top of me. I felt the shape of it and decided that either it was a cotton dress or Sam's interpretation of a shirt. I tugged it on over my head, still lying on the ground, to Jared and a newly appeared Paul's amusement, and Sam reached down to help me stand. The shirt fell down to my knees, the sleeves covering most of my arms. I looked him up and down suspiciously. "Just how big are you?" The boys laughed and Paul, leaning against the island, said, "That's what she said." I rolled my eyes at the overused phrase and childishly stuck out my tongue at him, then smiled. Jared barked out a laugh. "What was that about your maturity level?" I harrumphed, and he helped me slide the casseroles in the oven, and I set the timer. Paul snorted. "You know, I think I don't actually hate you." I answered breezily, "Good. I've accomplished my life's goal." "What, meeting an incredibly hot native?" "No, not caring." Paul let out a surprised laugh, and Jared shook his head. "Paul I think you've met your match."

Paul murmured something that I couldn't hear, but apparently Sam heard it and by the expression on his face, he really didn't like it. I ignored them and Jared commented, gesturing to Sam's shirt, "That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen." I rolled my eyes, grinning. "Like you'd know fashion if it bit you in the ass. This is the casual equivalent of haute couture." While Sam and Jared snorted in amusement, Paul gave me a pleading look. "Please, don't talk about…girl stuff anymore." His face scrunched up into a look of severe distaste, the expression looking kind of hilarious on his face, like he was terrified of the topic. I gave him an evil grin. "Aw, is widdle Pauly afwaid of wip gwoss?" He shuddered. "I can literally feel my balls crawling back up into my body right now." I squeezed my eyes shut, tight. "Ew. Gross. I did not need to think about that." At the same time, Jared recoiled and said, "Paul! Gross!" in displeasure.

Jared began to lay into Paul and Sam leaned over to say, "Can I see you outside for a moment?" I glanced at the oven timer and nodded. "Jared, watch the oven will you?" My only answer was a large hand flapping in my direction from both other guys. I smiled. _These crazy weirdoes._ Sam opened a door I hadn't noticed before that led outside. He walked over next to the large patch of bare earth he claimed was for Ava, with me following. I wasn't looking where I was going, though and my clumsy feet struck again. I slammed into Sam's back, and when I tried to back away, I did it too quickly and ended up just tangling my feet and crashing to the ground. Two burning hot hands slipped around my waist and yanked me back upright, and I found myself being held to Sam's chest. I inhaled, and it was the strangest thing to notice, but he smelled so amazing. Like the sea and the forest and musky and so very male. I looked up into his coal black eyes and smiled. "Sorry, I seem to need a lot of saving when I'm around you." He grinned and set me down carefully. "Eh, I don't mind." He sat down cross legged on the ground, and then patted the earth in front of him, indicating he wanted me to do the same. I cocked my head, but complied.

As I was sitting, Sam said quite innocently, "Woah, you sat down and you didn't even give yourself a hernia! I'm so proud." I glared at him and smacked his arm lightly. Instead of getting Paul's reaction, which I had belatedly thought and cringed about before I could stop the motion, he just laughed. I shook my head and let my hands fall to the emerald grass on either side of me, running my fingers through it. His cheeky grin was still on his face when he stated, "You crazy person." I gave him a look. "Right back at you, oh mighty King Sam." "Oh mighty King Sam?" I shrugged. "It seems to fit." It did. Sam carried this vibe of pure power and authority that was increasingly noticeable among the other boys. It didn't feel forced, or like he was trying to prove something, just more like it was something he did naturally. Sam shrugged his powerful shoulders. "Well, thanks. I think. Anyway, I brought you out here because I wanted to ask you about the man you said broke into your room last night."

I lowered my head, my smile disappearing from my face. "Yeah?" Sam frowned. "Did you tell your father?" I shook my head. "No. I tried, but he thought that I'd had a nightmare…To be honest I'm almost glad he didn't believe me." Sam's eyes snapped to mine. "Why?" His voice had a harder edge to it. I sighed, and ran my fingers through my tangled, salty hair. "Because I'm not entirely sure that he would believe me if I told him everything." Sam's face relaxed a little bit, and he asked, "Did you know him?" I shook my head. "Did he hurt you?" I held up the arm that he had scraped, the line was wider and deeper than I had expected, and I looked at it as if seeing it for the first time. "He did that with his fingernail. His hand was really cold, and hard. Like marble." I shuddered, remembering. "He did that, and then he licked off the blood. I didn't know what to do, I was terrified." Sam nodded in understanding. "Anything else?" I frowned, and then decided to just tell him. _After all, if he doesn't know you're bat shit crazy by now, he will soon anyway._ "He kept talking about weird things. He said that he'd been out 'hunting' and that he'd been 'sated', but then he _smelled_ me and got thirsty. I still have no idea what the hell he was talking about." Sam sighed. "Bella, I-"

He was interrupted by Jared shouting from the house, "Bella, Sam! FOOD!" I tried for a grin. Sam sighed in irritation. He gave me a long look as he stood up and held his hands out. I placed my hands, tiny by comparison, in his burning hot ones. For a strange reason, the warmth comforted me. "Bella, this conversation is only over if there's nothing else you want to say." I sighed and rubbed my forehead. It really had been a long two days. I was so glad that I was finally home, but was it worth all this worry about my freaking safety? Although with Sam…I didn't feel threatened. I felt safe. I was comfortable enough to really and truly be Bella around him and the other guys. It was a nice change, but I still needed to figure out what the hell was going on with my intruder.

We walked back to the house in silence, both of us preoccupied with our thoughts. After taking out the casseroles for them to cool a bit, I chopped up some lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, and at Jared's request, pickles to use for a salad. "Pickles, really?" Paul seemed disgusted. After wrangling Paul and Jared into setting the table, I used Sam's house phone to call the Police Station to talk to Charlie. His deputy, Joe Farris, put him on. "Bells?" I smiled, even though he couldn't see me through the phone. "Hey, Dad! I'm at Sam Uley's right now, I had to save him from his own cooking and I made him dinner. I made us some if you're going home anytime soon." "No, sorry Bells, but a case just came in about a missing hiker, his friend saw some huge paw prints near their campsite, so we're going out to look for him." I nodded. "Ok, just be careful, alright? I'll be home by…" "Ten. You'll be home by ten." I laughed at the stern tone in his voice. "Ok, Dad. Ten it is. Call you when I get home." "Love you, Bells." "Love you too, Dad." I hung up the phone and wandered into the dining room, where all three guys were arguing loudly. I cocked an eyebrow at Sam, who was vemhenantly opposing Paul's view on this football team versus' that football team. I sat down next to him, and scooped myself a portion of the casserole.

Paul paused in his and Sam's argument to look disbelievingly at my plate. "Is that all you're going to eat?" I looked down in confusion. "It's a pretty big portion, Paul." I was a little more than slightly curious to see what he considered a healthy portion. He snorted. "That's ridiculous." He cut himself half of what was left of the casserole, and heaped it into a mountain on his plate. "That is a normal sized portion." I looked between the two plates, a skeptical look in my eyes. "I think I'll stick with what I'm eating right now, if you don't mind. I'd rather not puke my guts out tonight." Jared shook his head and laughed, Sam smirked. And just like that, we all began to talk. At the same time. Over each other and around each other and to each other, not really about anything specific, just anything that came to mind. It was loud, but it was really a hell of a lot of fun.

I'd never laughed so hard, talked so much, or had so much fun just from talking in my life as I did that night. After the boys had finally finished their dinner, I leaned back in my chair and said happily, "This is so much better than that party on Second Beach." Sam cocked his head. "Not into the party scene?" I shrugged. "Well, maybe not that as much as the fact that I don't really like the people at the party." I clapped my hand over my mouth, my eyes wide. The guys laughed, and I asked in horror, "Did I really just say that?" Paul nodded, and still grinning, said, "Well, just as a warning, Lauren doesn't really like you either. But then again, I don't think she likes anyone." I frowned, thinking. "I don't know, she was talking about you pretty fondly when we left Forks for La Push." He grinned arrogantly. "She likes me for my dick." Sam and Jared both let out yells of discomfort, and I grimaced, blushing. "And that is my cue. Sam, do you think you could drive me home? I'm a little worried what Mike Newton might try with me if I ride home with him." Sam nodded. "Sure."

Jared gave Paul a disgusted look. "Can you not talk about that stuff? I really don't want to even think about your dick." I chuckled as Paul and Jared struck up a new argument, shaking my head. _Yeah. This is so much better than hanging out with Jessica, Angela, and Lauren while get drunk. _I stood up from the table, and Sam picked up the other casserole pan from the fridge while I made my way to his truck, my sand encrusted clothing in hand. The monstrous white beast's owner held the door open for me and I climbed in, giving Sam a smile. He grinned back at me, and ran over to the other side and swung his large body into the cab of the truck, setting the casserole down on the floor of the cab. I gave him a strange look. "Are you just going to leave the Dynamic Duo in there alone?" He laughed and started the truck. "They practically live here anyways. You know, Ava calls them that too." I slapped my forehead. "Shit, I didn't get to talk to her."

Sam remained silent. I looked over at him, gasping, my face clearing with realization. "You evil, evil, evil little man! You knew that your sister wasn't going to call, you brought me over here to cook for you!" He managed to keep his face and voice clear of any emotion when he said, "Bells, I am not little, not even close. Oh but next time, do you want me to have an apron ready for you?" I made a noise of protest and glared at him, crossing my arms. He looked over at me as he pulled onto the road that led to Forks, and said with a grin, "You look good in my shirt." The freezing retort I had ready got stuck in my throat. Before I could stop myself, my tongue blurted out, "And you look good without one." He gave a surprised bark of laughter, and I blushed and turned away. Rain began to fall outside, with the light fading behind it. Sam said with a smile evident in his voice, "Why thank you, miss." I shook my head, smiling.

The rest of the ride to Forks was silent, for the most part. I gave him a few directions here and there, but all in all it was just a comfortable silence. As he pulled up to my house, we both turned to face the other simultaneously. Sam frowned at me. "You look scared." I nodded. "I am scared." My voice was very quiet. Sam looked out at my house and said, "I have a feeling that you'll be safe tonight." His eyes swung to look at me, pinning me in my seat. "You know that you're safe here." I lifted my eyes to his. "It's so weird, and it's crazy…but I know." _I've never felt as safe as I do with you._ I let that remain unspoken. Silence fell again. We never once looked away from each other. I needed some time to think. Time to sort through it all. Time to myself. But staring at Sam's deep, undecipherable, liquid black eyes, I never wanted to move. Because something was going on behind those eyes. And I wanted to know what. Eventually, he broke the eye contact. "Do you want to come over tomorrow to actually talk to my sister? I promise no hidden agendas, she actually is supposed to call." I grinned. "Sure, as long as I'm not in your way." He grinned too, showing off his even white teeth.

"Come on, let's get you inside." He was unbuckled, out of the car, and holding my door open for me in the pouring rain by the time I'd gotten untangled from my seatbelt. Sam slipped those huge and hot hands around my waist and physically lifted me from the truck, setting me down carefully. I was so close to him in the rain that I found myself leaning back a little to admire his body and the rain fell in rivulets down and across his muscles. My mouth went dry watching those impressive hunks of muscle bunch up and loosen in accordance with his movements as he gathered my stuff from the cab of the truck. I decided that Sam didn't just look good without a shirt; he looked fucking amazing without it. His eyes met mine, and I blushed. I grabbed my things from him, and ran to the front door. I turned and gave him one last smile and a wave before entering the house, smiling wider when he shook his head, smiling. He thought I was ridiculous, but maybe it was in a good way.

Once inside, I leaned back against the front door, fanning my face. I should have been freezing from the rain. I should have been embarrassed about my behavior towards Sam. I was neither. I decided not to dwell on that just yet. I sighed and walked into the kitchen, pulling open the refrigerator and grimacing at its contents. Pizza, beer, sandwich meat, mayo, and one lone, sad looking apple. I shook my head, and placed the casserole in the fridge. _This madness stops tomorrow. I've got to remember to go by the grocery store for Charlie and I._ I shut the fridge, still concentrating on mundane tasks until I could get up stairs to my computer for some research.

I reached for the land line phone and dialed the station. Joe Farris answered again. "Hello, this is Forks Police Station, how may I help you?" I picked at my fingernails as I said, "Hey, this is Bella Swan, could you please tell my father Chief Swan that I'm home and alive?" With an obvious smile in his voice, he said, "I will let him know. Anything else?" "No, that's it, thanks." "Thank you for calling!" I hung up the phone, and pushed off of the wall.

With the food put away and Charlie notified of my presence in the house, I ran upstairs to my bedroom, tripping twice on the stairs, and grabbed my other dirty clothes, putting them and my sandy, marshmallow streaked clothes in a laundry hamper. As I walked back downstairs to the laundry room, I began running through options in my head. _Ok, let's see. He was pale. He had fangs. He licked my freaking blood. But somehow I don't think that he was Count Dracula._ I threw the clothes into the washer and started it. _He was also really handsome. Still really scary and really fucking creepy, but good-looking._ I remembered a proud, dark head thrown back in laughter._ He was ice cold. _I remembered two burning hands engulfing mine. _His finger felt really hard, like marble._ I remembered Sam's hard muscles under my fingers from the beach. _Oh, stop it, that's your best friend's brother!_ I stomped back upstairs to my room and gathered stuff for a shower.

_Come on, woman, think. He could have been an actor or something and he was preparing for a role. Yeah, right. Ok, he could have been an escapee from a mental hospital. Plausible, but still doesn't explain why he was all freezing cold and marble hard and how he drew blood from my arm with his freaking fingernail!_ I sighed in irritation, and turned the shower on. I made to take off my borrowed swimsuit, and then the realization hit me. I felt a smile overtake my face as I realized something.

I was still wearing Sam's shirt.

And it was _so_ not going back to its original owner.

If Sam wanted it, then Mr. High and Mighty would have to come and take it.

I shivered with delight at the thought.

I yanked myself from my thoughts and tugged the shirt and then the swimsuit off of my body. I reached into the shower, and decided the water was ok. I clambered in, relishing the feeling of the water pounding into my back. As I soaped up my body and my hair, I tried to come up with a reason for why Sam, Jared, and Paul had seemed so odd. _It could be because they're Quileute and they don't like having a pale-face around._ I frowned, then reached for my face wash and scrubbed to remove all the makeup. _No, Leah doesn't act like that and I have a feeling Paul or even Sam would have told me to get the fuck out if they didn't want me there. _ I leaned back to rinse shampoo from my hair. _So, maybe they're just accustomed to acting like animals. _I giggled at the thought and spread conditioner through my hair. Whenever the boys had laughed, there always seemed to be this underlying tone of a bark or a howl breaking through. _So maybe they're secretly wolves._ I shook my head, reaching for my shaving cream and razor. _Be realistic, Bella._

_But if they are wolves, that means they're either a shape-shifter of some sort or magic or something._ I rolled my eyes. I really couldn't believe I was thinking about this. _And maybe that man is one of those weirdoes who thinks that they're actually a vampire._ I harrumphed and went back to shaving my legs. _But what if he's actually a real vampire, blood drinker and all?_ I finished with one leg and started working on the other. _Then I really am bat shit crazy. Nothing like that exists outside of Hollywood and books._ I tried to dismiss the idea. _Isabella Marie Swan, I officially proclaim you ready for the nut house, on the count of seeing things for what they are not, and for thinking that things like shape-shifters and vampires exist._ I finished shaving, rinsed the conditioner from my hair, and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around me.

_Still, it's an idea._ Not a very likely one, but one nonetheless. I reached for my hair brush. _I mean, come on. Who else would want to drink blood? And he sounded scared of the wolves howling, aren't vampires afraid of wolves?_ I rolled my eyes. Oh yeah. I was definitely going crazy. I dried off, and wrapped my hair in the towel, turban style. I pulled on my underwear and I decided to forgo my pj's and instead pulled Sam's shirt back on. _I may be crazy, but I'm still here for now. _I dragged the towel from my hair and yawned. _Tomorrow. I'll think about this tomorrow._ I yawned going back into my room, and I gave my window an accusatory glance. I walked over to it and flipped the lock. After I did so, I heard a wolf howl way off in the distance. I turned back to my bed, and flopped down on it, wriggling under the covers. I set the alarm for eight tomorrow morning, flipped off my bedside lamp, and was asleep by the time my head hit the pillow.

**A/N:** So…yeah. It's not as long as I wanted, but I really wanted to get this chapter out there. It's been rewritten from its original form for something a little different, that's why it's up today and not yesterday. Anyway, Read 'N Review, I smile like a loon whenever I see them, and I'm trying to get back to you guys, really I am, so I promise that somewhere in the near future you will have a response, even if you've just given me a one-liner to work with. I adore you all. Love to everyone, please for the sake of my mother-fucking sanity, send me good thoughts/vibes/voo-doo/whatever. I have a history test tomorrow that I am COMPLETELY unprepared for. Whoop-de-doodle-doo. Fuck my life. Gross. I wish I had my own Sam to drool over…don't we all? Don't know when the next chapter'll go up, hopefully this week. Eddie might make an appearance…still not sure. Hmm. Jake and Leah definitely will, and I'll start introducing members of the pack and Bella will start becoming more involved with the wolves. _SHHHH! She doesn't KNOW about that yet!_ Oh, right. Speaking of which, I have a question. How do you think Sam should break the news about his furry other half?


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Own this, I do not. Care about what you think, I do. Yoda's favorite, I was. At the end, the A/N is. The story, you should read. I'll stop now.

**Saturday, September 14 8:02 A.M. Pacific Time Forks, WA BPOV**

I woke up that morning feeling exhausted. After the events of Thursday night, I had been terrified to go to sleep, and I kept waking up at odd hours and times. Once, I'd gotten up out of bed to go get a drink of water, and I could've sworn I saw something moving around out in the woods next to the house. I didn't get up again the rest of the night. Now, I sat up in bed and stretched, my muscles creaking. I heard my back pop twice and grimaced. I sighed, but stood up and got dressed, a t-shirt and jeans.

I sat down at my desk, and opened up my computer. As it booted up, I sighed and started thinking about yesterday. _So. Made three friends. Must be a record. Well, actually, two friends. I agree with Paul, I don't think Lauren likes me very much. At least the feeling is mutual._ I began to play with the ends of my hair, studying it. _I hope they're not mad at me, or anything, because I left yesterday…and then didn't even go back to see them or go home with them._ I grimaced. _Jeez, Bella. How socially inept are you?_ I sighed. _Which brings us to our next topic of confusion. The man in my room, and what the hell is actually wrong with him. _I felt more confident in the morning light, more determined. The computer was finally ready so I opened up a web browser. _Time to find some answers. _I took a deep breath and typed in, 'reasons for having hard and cold skin'. The results were not promising. A few were links to 'adult content' sites, others were links to sites about some rare skin condition, and the rest were mainly junk. I cleared the search bar and typed in, 'reasons for having fangs'. That got me nowhere, too. All of them seemed to be about bats and other assorted types of animals. I huffed. This was going nowhere, fast. _Alright, Bella. You've assuaged your need to look for a reasonable answer to this weirdo. Now you can either give up, or look for a not so reasonable answer._

So I gave in. I cleared the search and replaced it with, 'common features of a vampire'. What did I have to lose? This search did actually bear some possibilities. I opened up one that read, 'Vampires: How to Spot One and How to Stop One'. The article, or website, was organized horribly, but I trudged onward. "Ok, Bells. We've got Vampire Weaknesses, Vampire Appetite, Vampire…" I paused and leaned closer, making sure I was reading it correctly. "Vampire Sexual Preference? No thanks. Vampire Appearance, that might be helpful." I clicked the header and the passage expanded for me to read.

"_Although some people claim that vampires are mortal just like the rest of us, they are not. Vampires are immortal, and don't show any signs of aging beyond that of the day that they were bitten and turned. (See section 7, Vampire Creation, for more details.) Vampires are very attractive beings, very appealing to the human eyes, as they are this way to put humans, their prey, at ease. It has been claimed that they also appeal to every other human sense, as their voices are soothing to human ears, but not to the ears of the other supernatural's. The human sense of smell is alerted by the specifically designed scent of every vampire that encompasses their personality's main tints, and some have testified that breathing in the vampire's scent rejuvenates you, while others say it makes you ill. The human sense of touch is stimulated because a vampire's skin is very smooth and it has been claimed that their skin is ice cold to the touch." _

I sat back. Huh. Well. That all seemed to fit, but after a few glances at some of the other topics, I found myself doubting the author. _Of course you doubt him, these things don't exist!_ I huffed in agitation. What the hell was I supposed to believe? I knew, I just knew, that something wasn't _human_ about that man, but what was it? I glared in frustration at my computer screen. I just wished I could talk to someone who knew what the hell was going on. This was getting increasingly ridiculous. I rubbed my eyes, and poked around on a few other websites. None of them were helpful, some were downright disturbing, and others were just really, aggravatingly, stupid. So I gave up and shut off the computer, then stared out the window of my room. Apparently the good weather from yesterday was gone, because out the window there was only gray skies and murky clouds. _I wonder when Sam wants me to come over…_

We hadn't exchanged numbers or anything, so I had no way of contacting him. I frowned. _I'll leave around ten, and if he's not home, I'll go by the Black's and see Jacob._ I smiled when I thought of my childhood friend. My stomach rumbled, and I groaned. When I'd looked in the fridge last night, there was almost nothing edible, and I was really not looking forward to whatever Charlie ate for breakfast. I more or less fell down the stairs, and upon entering the kitchen, noticed that Charlie'd left me a note. _'Bells, sorry I didn't say goodbye this morning, but you were asleep when I left and I didn't want to wake you. I'll be at the station until six if you need me. –Dad' _

I grinned, and walked over to the pantry to check for anything more appetizing than three week old pizza, to no avail. I jumped when the kitchen phone began to ring, and guessed that it must be Charlie checking to make sure I woke up, or something. I answered, "Hello?" A bubbly voice answered back, "Hey, is this Bella? Because you really sound like her and this is Chief Swan's house number, at least I think it is, and I'm calling to find Bella is Bella there, can I talk to Bella please?" I found myself grinning and saying, "Jeez, Jessica, it's eight o'clock in the morning, slow down." She laughed. "No! Are you busy right now, because some serious shit went down last night after you left with those three _gorgeous_ Natives, who you are _so_ going to tell me all about, and I really need to catch you up. Lauren has a hangover, and Ang's doing…something, I'm not entirely sure, and this is the fourth time I have called this morning, where were you?" "Well, I-" She gasped. "No. Way. Bella. Did you spend the night with that guy from the beach?" I blushed scarlet. "No! No, no, no, no, you see he's the brother of a friend. No spending the night occurred." "Oh." She sounded disappointed. "Well, at any rate, do you want to come over for breakfast or something, because I seriously can't wait to tell you this stuff and it's stuff I have to tell you like, face to face."

I glanced at the clock. It wouldn't hurt to spend time with Jessica, and after all, as wild and crazy as she was, I actually did like her. "Sure, but we can't eat here because Charlie has like, no food whatsoever in the fridge." I could practically hear her flap her hand the way she always did. "No prob, girl, I got yo back! That's my rapper accent, do you like it?" "Uh, yeah. Why do you have a rapper accent?" She huffed in impatience. "Uh, because I'm going to be an actress, duh! Or a teacher, I change my mind. Now, do you need directions to my house or do you remember the way?" "I remember it. Be there in, I don't know, five minutes." Jessica giggled. "Alrighty! You are going to flip when you hear the news!" Before I could pry her for better details, she hung up. I smiled and set the phone back in the hook. I ran back up to my room and grabbed my keys, then my forgotten cell phone from my carry-on that I'd used when I flew here. On my way down the stairs, I switched on my phone and tried to think of what was so important that Jessica would want to talk about it right away, but in truth, I didn't mind. I grabbed a sweatshirt from the coat rack next to the front door, shoved my sneakers on my feet, went outside and locked the front door. When I turned around, as if on cue, it began to rain.

I smiled ruefully. _But of course._ I threw the sweatshirt over my head to shield myself from the rain and raced to my truck. I swung my body in it as fast as I could, trying not to get myself or the interior wet, failing for the most part, and slammed the door shut. I began to hum as I started it up, backed out of the driveway, and began the drive to Jessica's house. When I got there, I was highly amused to see the girl herself standing on the shelter of the front porch, waving crazily at me. I waved back and hopped out of the truck. And immediately slipped in the rain. I managed to catch myself on the truck's door handle before I landed, and I yanked myself back upright, my face burning. _Good Lord, woman. How clumsy are you?_ I ran to meet Jessica, the rain pouring now. "Bella, finally! Come on, let's go inside and get you dried off so we can start eating!" The way she rolled her eyes dramatically when she said eating made me smile, and she opened the door, motioning me inside. Her house was small, but clean and almost painfully organized.

This was even further evidenced when she pulled me into the kitchen and a piece of paper on the fridge documented where you could find everything kitchen related. It even had a diagram of under the kitchen sink. Jessica caught me staring at it and rolled her eyes. "Oh, that thing. My mother's crazy, she goes through all these 'phases', one day she's planning on becoming a nun, and the next day she swears she'd be the best model the world has ever seen. Right now she's really into organization." I nodded. "My mom's a lot like that, too." Jessica gave me a curious glance over her shoulder. "Really? Then we have a lot to talk about. You want cereal?" I shrugged. "Sure." She handed me a bowl and motioned to a cabinet above my head. "We have Trix, Captain Crunch, Lucky Charms, and some kind of Indian cereal my mom bought on a health kick from last month." I grinned, picked up a random box and poured myself some.

Jessica opened the fridge and wrinkled her nose. "Some of the stuff we have to eat when my mom's on a health fix is incredibly disgusting. Once, she made up eat the balls from a sheep." At the look on my face, she laughed. "Yeah, it's grosser than it sounds. Milk?" I nodded. "So what did you-" "Ah, ah, ah, not so fast! Here, I'll pour the milk, you get in that drawer- no, the other one, no, more to the left, there you go- and get us two spoons. Trix, Bella, really? I'd have pegged you for a Lucky Charms kinda girl." I shrugged, grinning. "Because you like Lucky Charms?" She smiled and set the bowls down on the table in the kitchen, and as she put the milk away she said, "Ok, just three more seconds…" She plopped down in the seat opposite me and grinned. "Ok. Go."

Imeddiately I asked, "What happened after I left last night?", knowing that was all that was required to get Jessica going. Between bites of cereal, she said, "Ok, so after you and that hunk of manly goodness and his two hunky friends left, Lauren got all pissy because apparently one of the guys you left with is her Paul-man-meat. So she then proceeded to hit on Eric until he led her out into the woods, and they were gone all night. All night, Bella. So without a wing-girl, I was forced to stand on the sidelines more or less as an all out brawl went down between Ben and Mike." I choked on my Trix. "Wait, what?" She swirled her spoon in her bowl. "Well, apparently Mike really doesn't like Angela or something, which is weird because she's like, the nicest person I know. But anyway, Mike started being ugly with her, she kinda started crying, and Ben walks right up to Mike and punches him right in the face. Yeah, I know! It was ridiculous! Both boys were drunk off their asses, so what little fighting that did happen was all slow motion and shit. And then the La Push cops came around and rounded everyone up and threw us out. But that's not the best part. The best part is that when Angela went to go thank Ben for standing up for her, he asked her out. Right there in front of everyone, me, Mike, the La Push po-po, half the juniors and seniors from our school, and in front of Tyler." I cocked my head to the side. "Wait. Why is it such a big deal if Tyler was there?" Her eyes widened. "Shit, you don't know. Tyler's had a massive crush on Ang since third grade. He's asked her out so many times that everyone else has lost count, and then all of a sudden, out of the blue, he misses his chance to show her exactly how much he cares about her. Now he's doomed to forever stand by and watch the love of his life being happy with someone else." I stopped chewing to glance up at Jessica. Her eyes were wide, her hands were clasped in front of her chest, and she was speaking almost reverently. She grinned at me cheekily. "That's out of one of my mom's favorite romance novels."

I gave her a hesitant thumbs up. "Yay?" She giggled. "No, but seriously, I kinda feel for the guy. I mean, he must be heartbroken. Oh, Angela said yes to Ben. In case you didn't get that. And oh my god, was the ride home a catastrophe…" Jessica had finished eating by now and could make more use of her hands to gesture and point to emphasize what she was saying. At one point I noticed that the more she talked, the happier she became. So after about twenty minutes of ranting about Mike's unwillingness to accept the terms of their relationship (i.e. nothing was ever going to happen), she sighed contentedly and leaned back in her chair. "Ok, enough about that loser, tell me about what you did last night! Who were those guys?" "Sam Uley was the one who was carrying me, and his friends were Jared and Paul." Jessica made a 'go-on' motion, so I smiled before launching into my own tirade, mostly talking about my conversation with Jared in the kitchen and then our conversations at the table. Jessica laughed hysterically when I told her how Jared tricked Paul, through a bet, into agreeing to let me and one of my friends do his makeup.

"Jesus, Bella, are you serious?" I nodded happily. "Yup. Goes down next week!" She gave me puppy dog eyes and asked, "Will you bring me along? PLEASE?!" I nodded quickly, and she settled back, pleased. I cocked my head to the side. "Jess, what do you really want in a guy?" Honestly, I was certainly curious, but I had no idea where the question came from. She gave me a sly grin. "Well, he's got to be hot for one thing." We grinned at each other and she continued in a more serious vein, "But uh, he's got to be really talkative, happy, and especially nice, I'm so tired of dating assholes. I want him to be sweet, you know? I want him to be a little protective when necessary, but only when necessary. I want to be an equal in the relationship." I nodded. "I'd want an equal, too. I want him to be protective too, but in a way that I always know I'm safe, but I can still do the stuff I want. I want it to be a little easy and a little hard to work him out, but I want to be able to look across a room at him and have him just _know_ what I'm thinking. But I really want him to not be afraid to go after what he wants. Be assertive. Sweet, but assertive." Jess grinned. "We don't want much, do we?" We laughed and I grinned at her. "Look at us, getting all deep and girly and all feely together." We cackled and Jess shook her head.

"Ok, then what happened after you guys had your little pow-wow dinner thing? Did Sam drive you back home?" I nodded, blushing. She noticed that and an evil grin came over her face. "Something happened when he drove you home. Something totally happened. Tell me. Tell me now." I ran a hand through my hair before saying slowly, "Well my clothes were kind of ruined when Paul brought them back from the beach, and Sam gave me one of his shirts to wear so I wouldn't freeze." At her excited nod, I smiled, knowing she was dying for me to continue. "And when we were in the car, we got to talking and he said…" I mumbled really quietly, "He said I looked good in his shirt." Jessica was leaning so far forward over the table; she was almost laying on it. "Sorry, what?" I blushed. "He said I looked good in his shirt. But it wasn't a derogatory thing, he said it like…oh I don't know." She beamed, an excited gleam in her eyes. "And what did you say back?" I blushed further. "I said he looked good without one." She squealed, clapping her hands together and stomping her feet on the floor. "That's perfect, Bella, oh my god that was amazing! I'm so proud of you!"

She lept up from the table and rushed over to me, throwing her arms around my shoulders and hugging me tightly. I laughed in surprise. "Uh, thank you?" She let go, beaming. "So, did you guys make a second date?" I rolled my eyes. "Jess, it was not a date. It was just four kids hanging out, and then one drove me home." She flapped her hand, and I smiled at the gesture. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. When are you going to see him again?" I looked down, smiling. "Well, actually, I'm supposed to go over to his place today to talk to his sister." She spread her hands out in front of her. "What the hell are you still doing here?" "Um, talking to you?" She rolled her eyes. "Bella. If I had a man as hot as Sam waiting for me, I wouldn't ask any questions. And I wouldn't walk to where said man was waiting, I would run." I laughed. "If I tried to run, I think I would fall on my face and die, with my luck."

Jessica cocked an eyebrow. "You're in a really good mood." She grinned. "Would that have anything to do with a certain man, named Sam?" I pretended not to hear her. "I'll call you later, as I'm sure you'll want all the dirty details." She nodded her head. "You are correct. Now go get him, tiger!" I stood up and gave her a hug. "Thanks for breakfast, Jess." She flapped both hands at me in a shooing motion. "Yeah, yeah. Go, go, go! Run, Bella, run!" I laughed, and with one last wave, stepped out the front door. I was still grinning when I turned off of the main road of Forks to the one that led to the La Push turn-off. And promptly lost both the grin and my happy attitude when my passenger side door was ripped off of its hinges and a man lept easily into the seat.

He turned his pale, handsome face towards me, a crooked grin spread across it. He ran an ivory hand through bronze locks, and locked eyes with me. But instead of my nighttime intruder's eyes being coal black, the way they had been last time, now they were red. Blood red.

I slammed on the breaks, my heart pounding, my eyes wide. He grinned. "I never got to introduce myself properly, the other night. I am Edward Cullen." My mind was racing, trying to figure out a way to get out of this situation. So my mouth channeled it's inner Jessica and began to spew forth words. "Cullen, like the Cullen's that left town not too long ago?" He grimaced. "I, regretfully, am no longer with them." He motioned to the road. "Turn around and return home." "Why?" He swung that beautifully hideous face towards me, giving me a lazy smile. "You can either live for a few more minutes and plead for your life, or you can die right here, in this truck." I shuddered, but complied. What choice did I have? "Why do you want to kill me?" He scoffed. "I'm a vampire, Bella Swan. It's what we do." My heart skipped a beat. "No. Vampire's don't exist." Edward gave a mocking laugh. "Silly Bella. We do exist. Watch." I looked over, and with a blur of movement my eyes couldn't follow, he did something. I looked at the dashboard in front of him, and a dent the size of my own face was now there.

He said disinterestedly, "You see, Bella love, vampires have certain…abilities." I swallowed hard and clutched the wheel in front of me. "Like what?" He shrugged. "Incredibly enhanced speed, strength, and senses. Including, I'm told, our sense of taste." He let his blood red eyes scan lazily over my body, a look in his eyes that I really didn't want to think about. "I can't wait to break you." The whispered words were followed by him leaning closer to my shaking body, and as he pushed his head closer to mine, I cringed away from him. I clamped my mouth shut before a scream of terror could escape. Anger flashed across his face, clouding the perfect features. "I can't hear you." I didn't look at him. "I didn't say anything." He sighed delicately. "Bella love, vampires gain a special trait, a gift, when they turn. My trait is the ability to hear people's thoughts."

He raised one lone finger to my cheek and rubbed the skin there gently. His skin was just as icy and hard as I remembered. "But with you, Bella, I can't hear your thoughts." He smiled crazily. "That, love, is most fortunate." I felt my heart beat faster as we re-entered Forks. _Time is running out, Bella_. "Why is that fortunate?" He leaned all the way over to me and whispered in my ear, sending violent chills down throughout my body. "Because this way I won't have to listen to your pain as I sink my fangs into your neck and drain your body dry. I won't have to hear any of your pathetic human thoughts as the life leaves your body behind, and you are plunged into darkness." He gave me a cold, feral smile. "Instead," he said as he drew back slightly, and raked one of his marble hard hands down my arm from my shoulder to my wrist; ripping the flesh apart all the way down to the bone.

I screamed in agony, going blind from the pain for a split-second, and he wrenched away from me so fast I felt his hand get snagged and rip through the skin on the back of my wrist. From the inside of my skin. His hands clapped over his ears at the sound of my screams, and he wrinkled his nose, but continued. "Instead, I will be able to enjoy myself fully, drinking the liquid from your veins in ecstasy." Through the pain of my new wound, I felt my emotions begin to divide. One half was scared shitless, but the other half was disgusted at his actions. The fact that he was even near me made my skin crawl. He looked at me speculatively. "You know, Bella love; after I'm finished with your blood, I think that I will indulge in something that used to disgust me." I glanced at him. He explained further, "I think I will succumb to my desire to taste not only your blood, but your flesh."

Bile rose in my throat, my stomach roiled. Partly from the scent of my own blood pouring out of my arm, partly from the things he was saying, and partly from the spinning I felt as I felt something divide inside me. On one half of the divide was sickening pain and crippling fear. On the other half, the half that I had sensed disgust in, held roiling anger. How dare this man try to do these things to me? How dare he frighten me and threaten to kill me, promising disgusting things that he planned to do to my own body? The angry half faded from my notice almost as soon as it appeared, and the spinning in my head stopped abruptly, and my thoughts turned crystal clear. I became focused on one purpose. Getting away, alive. Edward swirled his pale hand in the blood that had pooled in the seat between us. "You are much braver than I thought you would be." I nodded tightly, my mind now picking up speed as it searched for a way out of this situation. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he lifted his now blood-soaked hand to his mouth and licked every drop from his digits. His eyes rolled back into his head in obvious pleasure, and I felt disgust uncurl within me yet again. He opened his eyes, they seemed to almost glow, and he gave another delicate sigh. "You taste so delicious, love." I decided to try and distract him with a question, try to buy as much time as I could. "How come you're going to kill me at home?" He snarled. "I would have very much enjoyed killing you back when we were across the border, but I couldn't or I'd risk breaking the treaty that Carlisle worked so hard to create with those dogs." He shifted and gave me an indulgent, demeaning smile. "And also for sentimental reasons. I plan to drain you in your bedroom, the very place that we first met. But don't get any ideas, Bella love." His smile became feral once more, and the expression sent every molecule in my body reeling in terror. "Bella, you will never escape."

I looked away from him. I couldn't look at this insane vampire's face anymore. "Oh." He reached over and trailed one long, cold, marble hard finger against my throat. "You have no idea how enticing you smell. Much better than when you first came home last night, you reeked of wet dog." I felt my eyes widening. "You've been watching me?" He raised his eyes; once again coal black, to look at me. "Of course. You're my singer, Bella, do you know what that means?" I shook my head. "It means that your blood calls to me, beckons to me you might say. It's the most enticing scent I have ever smelled." He inhaled deeply, nostrils flaring. "But I can't do that again or I will lose control and suck you dry right here. Why don't you start talking now? You can tell me about your mother, Renee." I shuddered. Just how much did this guy know about me? My mind still whirling, I let my mouth speak without my brain's consent. "Just nod your head, please, I would like to ask some questions." He didn't look happy, but he nodded graciously.

"Are you really planning to kill me as soon as we get to my house?" Nod. "Do you want to kill my dad?" Head shake, no. "Did your family throw you out?" Nod. "Are you all vampires?" Nod. I had no idea what questions I was asking, but I was trying to buy time. It was no use, because all too soon, I turned into my driveway. And then I was moved so fast I couldn't see. One second I was sitting in the cab of my truck, the next I'm standing behind a literally shaking Paul. Edward hissed at him. "Dog, this is not your land." Paul scoffed. "Is now, fucking bloodsucker. Your eyes are red, and you've hurt a human. Treaty's broken, you leech." Edward began to circle Paul, and with a flash of intuition I knew that he was going to try to distract him in order to get to me. Paul saw it coming, though, and made a motion with his left hand.

Jared materialized next to him, his usually happy face now twisted in anger. Both hulking men stood shoulder to shoulder in front of me, protectively. Jared spoke in a rough, hard voice. "If you leave right now, without any more harm coming to Bella, we won't kill you." Edward gave them a feral grin. "I'll leave. For now. But don't worry, Bella, love. I'll be back for you." He snarled. "I'll always be back." And he was gone. My head spun. Paul and Jared's voices babbled over me. I was lost in a world of horror. Edward was a vampire. With ungodly amounts of superhuman speed and strength. And whatever Paul and Jared were, they seemed to be something that would give him pause. They had to be something dangerous, too. More dangerous, though, than Edward?

A chant began to go off in my head, and the divide reappeared. _Send the boys. They can kill him. Send the boys. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. _My breathing became even more erratic, but my thoughts were clear. I snapped out of my trance. "Paul. You need to go after him. Take Jared. Go after him, you've got to stop him." Paul gave me an odd look. "He has a whole coven behind him, Bella." I shook my head furiously. "No, he said it was just him. He said they threw him out." Jared pulled off his sneakers and his shirt, and Paul did the same before Jared asked, "Are you sure he was telling the truth?" I gave him a breathless laugh.

"He was going to kill me, Jared. I don't think he was hiding anything from me. Go, before you lose him. I'll be at Leah Clearwater's. Be careful, though. He said he can read minds." They nodded in determination. I had no idea where the calmness or the words I was saying came from, but somehow, _somehow_, I knew that I was right. Somehow I knew exactly what to do.

I needed to go to La Push.

Jared and Paul were gone in the blink of an eye, and although I should have been continuing to have a freak out over my expeirinces, I held out. _Not yet. Get to La Push._ I jumped into the truck, landing with a sickening squelch in the blood sitting in the drivers seat. I revved the truck to life, and drove down to La Push at over eighty five miles an hour in a daze. Even though I had a feeling that if he wanted to, Edward could still get to me. And he did want to. As I passed over this little bridge that led into the first few houses of La Push, I saw him in my rearview mirror. Pale, beautiful, angry. And covered in blood. I didn't know if it was my blood, Jared's, or Paul's. I hoped distractedly that it was my own blood.

And then he was gone. Another bout of hysteria threatened, but I pushed it down, along with the blackness swirling at the edges of my vision. _Not just yet. Keep going. Go to Leah._ Even though every bone in my body ached for someone else. Someone with coal black eyes, high slashing cheekbones, authority and power staining every action, and an unerring ability to make me feel safe. Something I needed right now. Something I craved. I stopped in front of Leah's house, surprised I'd remembered the directions she'd given me my first day here in Forks.

Even though it had only been two and a half days since then, it felt like an eternity. Life just moved so fast. _Go inside. Go to Leah._ I stumbled out of the truck, and onto the Clearwater's porch. I watched my fist bang into their front door, and I couldn't hold it in any longer. _Ok. Now._ I began to scream, sob and shake all over. I felt so violated. My privacy had been invaded so horribly it literally hurt to think about. I felt so vulnerable. So weak. I could never have fought him off. Never. I fell to the ground, my screams echoing around me. I saw myself bleeding all over their porch from the wound on my arm. Now it was bleeding much worse than when he'd first created it. I heard the babbling of voices, and the sound of footsteps. Then everything turned black, my mind retreating into the depths of my consciousness, seeking safety.

I knew I'd never find safety there.

I'd only find it one place.

Sam.

**A/N:** So…yeah. This was incredibly hard, at first, to write, and then my savior, sofyyeah, swooped in with some ideas to get me unstuck. And WHOOP! This was born. Thanks goes out to everyone who's reviewed, I will continue sending PM's if you do, and as a bonus, there's this! If you are one of the first five people to review the last chapter I published before I publish a new chapter, I will send you a little sneak peak. Not a big one, but one nonetheless. So, review and review and review, my beauties! I adore ALL of you! And I lied. I thought that Sam wouldn't be revealing the truth to Bella for awhile yet; but given the way this chapter turned out, I think we can all guess that that line of story won't happen. I already have the next chapter mostly written, all I have to do is type it up and edit it. So, send me love! I'm being greedy this week. Send me love anyway!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **All the usual stuff. I don't own anything. Just read the story, soon, you'll see! I don't know.

**?day, September ? ?:? Forks, WA BPOV **

I was running. I didn't know where, I didn't know why. Every so often, I would look behind me, trying to see what I was running from. I saw flashes of colors, streaks of lights. Then I would turn around, seeing if I was running to something, instead. There I saw darkness. There I saw black. Nothing. I tried to stop my pumping legs and arms; I didn't want to go into the dark. I didn't want to go there; I wanted to go to the flashing colors, all the lights. But my body ignored the orders from my brain and kept running. My head kept screaming to go back, go back! My body kept screaming to keep going, keep going! I was being torn in two different directions, and I wondered when I would finally break. The dream faded.

**?day, September ? ?:? Forks, WA BPOV **

I was so cold, freezing. Everything was dark around me, but I could hear clicking and beeping, little pats of something muffled in the background, and someone screaming. I couldn't make out what they were screaming; I only knew that they wanted someone very badly. Something in my body itched and burned. My arm. My arm was itching and burning. It felt like it was on fire. I tried to move my other arm to scratch, but the limb was too heavy; I couldn't even lift it. The beeping got louder, and the little pats in the background paused, then sped up and got louder, closer. I focused on my arm; it was burning like it was dipped in liquid fire. The person who was screaming screamed louder, and I tried to decipher who it was that they were screaming for. Why wouldn't anyone give the person who they wanted? It seemed very cruel to me, very cruel indeed. Warm hands ran over my burning arm, and the screaming changed to anguished pain. I realized the screaming was coming from me.

**?day, September ? ?:? Forks, WA BPOV **

The first thing I noticed, before I even opened my eyes, was that I was freezing cold. Shivering almost. The next thing was that my arm still itched, but it didn't burn like before. My brain, although fuzzy, was much clearer than the last time I had resurfaced. I opened my eyes, scanning the room. White bed, white walls, white chair, a strange tangled wad of Velcro restraining my arm to the bed, beeping machines and whirring computers sitting beside the bed in which I was laying. I realized I must be in a hospital, and that the sounds I had heard before had to have been the noises of the machines hooked up to me. I looked at the bedside table, which held a phone, a glass, a pitcher of water, and a single white lily.

I tried to reach out to finger the petals, but a large warm hand engulfed mine and my attention was diverted to the figure of a relieved Sam, looking just as handsome and huge as I remembered. "Thank God."

I smiled weakly at the relief in his voice and said hoarsely, "Thank Jared and Paul. If they hadn't been there it would have been a lot worse." His eyes scanned over my body, as if checking me to make sure that I was really there, that I was really alive. His grip on my hand tightened, and he moved to sit on the bed next to me.

His other hand reached up and ghosted over my cheek, his face undecipherable. "Bella, I…" He trailed off, as if he couldn't make himself think of the right words. My arms itched to tug him closer. He just looked so...lost. And helpless. And it was easy to tell that he wasn't used to feeling that way. The idea made me want to ask him what made him feel so terrible, so I could make the problem go away. Make that terrified look on his face disappear.

Instead, I asked as calmly as I could, fearing the answer I would receive, "Are Jared and Paul ok?" I really hoped that when I sent them after Edward instead of helping me, that I hadn't sent them to their unneeded deaths.

Sam gave me a small nod, but his eyes still roamed over my body, not meeting my own. "They're a bit beaten up, but no permanent damage. More like wounded pride." He and I grinned a bit, and I tugged our joined hands to my lips, kissing the knuckles.

We both sighed at the touch, and Sam's entire body shivered, like he was cold. I felt like my own skin was being bathed in sunlight, I was warm again. Sam ran his hand flat over my face, as if memorizing the feel of my skin. "You've been out for two days, since you got to the Clearwater's. You'd lost so much blood Sue couldn't believe you were still awake, but they got you to the hospital in time." I nodded, not really listening as I ran my lips over the palm of his hand. He gave a choked sigh and hung his head, his other fist clenching the sheets beside me.

I couldn't understand why he was so worried looking. Why he looked so completely confused. He seemed to gather his courage and leaned forward. My eyes slipped closed when his mouth brushed my cheek. I relaxed, feeling safe in his presence. I hadn't expected to be this comfortable with anyone for a long, long time, but I was. I always was with Sam. He gently pulled his hand out of my grip. "I have to go." I felt desperation sink into my body as he turned away.

I swallowed hard, and pushed past any insecurity I felt (since when did I feel insecure around Sam?), asking him hurriedly, "Can't you stay? At least until I fall asleep?"

His body shuddered, like he was trying to fight off something. Like he was trying to fight off me. I cringed back into the bed when he said harshly, "No. Leah and Sue will take care of you until you're better enough to go home." I didn't care about that. I cared about Sam. I reached out, stretching my limb and it brushed against the warm, bare skin of his arm. He clenched his hands and grit his teeth at the contact, while I sighed in relief. Touching Sam made me feel so much better. Sam's eyes still stayed away from mine as he said blandly, "See you around, Bella."

And then he was gone, my hand hanging in the air, the machines beeping away, and the only proof I had of his visit was another white calla lily sitting next to the first one, and the warmth slowly ebbing from my body. I closed my eyes, hoping that he would come see me tomorrow.

**?day, September ? ?:? Forks, WA BPOV **

I woke up freezing again, and for some strange reason, really anxious. My eyes scanned the room, with more ease and less pain than the first time. There were no more lilies, but a few of the machines were gone. Unfortunately, a certain huge Quiluete was absent as well. The window was dark, still, but with no hint of the rising sun like the last time I had awakened...

I wrinkled my face worriedly, wishing that Sam was here. Someone knocked on the door, and a nurse prattled in, her perky face smiling brightly. "Hello there, dear! It's nice to finally see you awake! I'm going to make some adjustments to your bandages, and you might find them painful. Would you like some anesthetic, it'll help you catch up on your sleep and block the pain. Kill two birds with one stone and all."

She laughed lightly, and I resisted the urge to tell her that the only thing I wanted was Sam. My arm throbbed painfully, and I nodded tightly. "Just do whatever you want." She pulled out an already filled needle and inserted it into my IV. She prattled on about this thing and that thing, busying herself around my room until the anesthetic kicked in.

As my eyes slipped closed and everything started to fade, I heard a wolf howling in the distance. A single word escaped painfully from my lips, my heart twisting. "Sam."

**?day, September ? ?:? Forks, WA BPOV **

This time, when I woke up all but one of the machines were gone, the one remaining was just the IV drip. My arm had far less bandages than the last time, and it was unrestrained. I moved the fingers there to test the movement, and although it was painful, I sighed in relief as each one moved. I had been so afraid to lose my hand's mobility. The phone, sitting closer to me now that all the beeping machines were gone, started to ring shrilly.

I lunged for it, my heart pounding at the thought that Sam might be on the other line. "Hello?"

A deep voice did answer me, but it wasn't the one I was hoping for. "Bella girl, hey! It's Jared, in case you didn't recognize my wonderfully sexy voice." I smiled at his antics.

Jared, while not as much of a ladies man as Paul, was apparently pretty popular among the Forks girls. Or so Jess had told me. Thinking of my friend sent a smile onto my face. I asked Jared curiously, "How did you know how to call me? Like in the hospital and all, I'm sure there's a lot of rooms or something…" I rolled my eyes as my voice trailed off, feeling undeniably stupid. The only reason I asked was because I hoped that Sam had told Jared, and then I could open a discussion up about where Sam was, what he was doing, and more importantly, when he would come back.

Jared apparently wasn't my friend at that point, because he said, "Oh, Leah gave it to me when I asked her for it. She asked why and I very humbly told her that Paul and I saved your life."

I grinned, knowing Leah she wouldn't let that one fly when they hadn't even been there when I'd shown up on the Clearwater's front porch, half bleeding to death if my doctor was to be believed. "What did she do?"

Jared laughed in an almost maniacal way and said, "Well, let's just say that my jaw still hurts a little from her punching me when she found out that we left you to go off in search of the, ah-hem, wild animal that attacked you." He laughed. "She told me that I was a stupid, stupid boy."

I laughed with him for a bit. "Somehow I don't think that Leah would say something like that without including at least a half-dozen cuss words in there somewhere. Or something like that."

I could hear the smile in Jared's voice when he said, "Yeah, or something like that."

I frowned, remembering what he had said earlier about me being attacked by a wild animal. "Uh, Jared?" "Yeah, Bella?" I frowned, opening my mouth to speak, then halting and checking the door like I was expecting someone to burst in and call me insane before taking me to the nut house. I pushed on, anyway. What the hell did I have to lose? "I just wanted to know if the whole thing really was a, uh, wild animal."

Jared paused on the other side of the phone, and I heard him trying to say something, but it was like he couldn't get the words out, like they were stuck in his throat. "I'm sorry, Bella, but I can't help you right now with that." Then he abruptly changed the topic of discussion. "Your friend, Jessica, remember? She went over to your house to deliver you your homework, and after a long, utterly boring story here, it somehow wound up in the trusty hands of Paul LaHote."

I wrinkled my nose. "Paul has my homework?" Somehow I couldn't think of Paul actually knowing what homework was, he didn't really strike me as the intellectual type.

I had paused for longer than I realized because Jared asked almost cautiously, "Uh, Bells? You with me?"

I jerked back to the present and smiled, even though he couldn't see me through the phone. "Oh, yeah, sorry. I was just trying to reconcile Paul as one of those nerdy types."

Jared was silent on the phone for a couple of beats, before he burst out laughing, in the kind of happy way that you simply had to join in with. "Jesus Christ, Bella, that mental picture I just got was priceless, fucking priceless!" He chuckled again, but softer this time. "Man, I've gotta sh-" He kind of choked on his words again, like he was trying to say something but couldn't. He sounded like he was trying to get the words out, but couldn't.

He sighed in frustration, and said tensely, "Sorry about that, I had…uh…something in my throat." I frowned, my eyebrows creasing in thought.

_Jared is a really bad, bad liar. Wonder what he's lying about…_

Jared cleared his throat, bringing me back to our conversation. "Oh, uh, yeah. I was just calling to check on you and to give you a heads up that Jessica's on her way over there, with your homework. She came and got it from Paul, and-. Never mind, long story. She's quite a talker, you know?"

I grinned, thinking about how Jessica must've talked Jared's ear off. And given how much Jared liked to talk as well, it couldn't have been a brief conversation, by anyone's reckoning. "Yeah, I know she likes to talk."

"Who likes to talk?" The very girl under discussion breezed into my hospital room, carrying a vase of daisies (with a Get Well Soon balloon), and a nurse chasing after her, seeming out of breath. Jessica waved at me happily. "Hey, look at you, all alive and stuff!"

The nurse glared at Jessica and said to me, "She has ten minutes, and then you are to be left alone to rest. _Only_ ten minutes." With one more glare at Jessica, the nurse left the room, the door swinging shut behind her.

Jessica turned to look at me, surprise and a bit of amusement on her face. "Holy Hell, all I did was bring you flowers! And…" She held my backpack up as if presenting a prize, complete with a cheesy smile. "I come bearing homework!"

I smiled and told Jared, "Hey, I'm going to have to call you back, ok?" Somehow I thought that if I left Jessica to her own devices while I talked to Jared, it wouldn't end well. Plus she'd come all the way out to La Push with my homework. The girl at least deserved her ten minutes.

Jared said quickly, "Oh, sure, ok. Hey, get better, like tomorrow. Ok? Are we in agreement?"

I laughed. "Yes Jared. I will try to be fully healed by tomorrow." Jared may have been older than I was, but sometimes when I was talking to him, he acted as if he were much, much younger. It was oddly endearing to me.

He said with a very formal, educated voice, "Do or do not, there is no try." He laughed and said happily, "Bye Bells!"

He hung up before I had a chance to reciprocate the goodbye, and as I put the phone back in the cradle, I glanced at Jessica curiously. "You only have ten minutes?"

She rolled her brown eyes, sighing dramatically. She walked over to where the calla lilies were and placed her own surprisingly not-hideous arrangement next to them, and setting my backpack down by my bed. "Ugh, unfortunately, yes. The mean old nurse lady told me you were very, very ill; and you needed your rest very, very badly. I told her that we were very, very good friends and if she didn't let me see you that she would end up very, very hurt."

I giggled. "Did you really say that?" It's not that I doubted her; I could see her doing it. But the idea was so bizarre to me, mouthing off to authority, that it ended up being adorable when Jessica pulled up the visitor's chair to my bed and nodded proudly.

"Yup! Every damn word! Oh, you are so freaking lucky that you weren't there today, today's Monday if you didn't know, at school when Tyler saw Ben walking around with Angela. The poor guy started bawling, right there in the middle of the hallway! So, trying to save him from further embarrassment, I walked up to him…" And so followed a normal conversation, with Jessica motioning and flapping her hands, me listening with fascination as she laid out whatever tragedy had happened out for me to see.

The nurse popped her head in the door, glaring. "Ten minutes are up! Get out, Miss Swan needs her rest." Jessica flapped her hands at the nurse and turned back to me, rolling her eyes in her typical dramatic way.

"Ok, ok! Bella, today's homework includes English Lit., Bio, Spanish, and Trig! Have lots of fun, darling!" She blew me a kiss from the door way and waltzed past the nurse, who _hmph_ed before leaving the room as well.

Without anyone around me, I let my head fall back onto the pillow, and began to think of the one thing that always seemed to be hovering around my mind, lately.

Sam Uley.

Sam with his coal black eyes, his short black hair, those cheekbones, that smile, that ridiculously attractive body he possessed. Those were the things any normal teenage girl would think about. But me, not being normal, wondered if because he hung out so much with Jared and Paul, he was like them and something…different, too. There was no denying from the way Edward reacted to them that they were a force of nature to be reckoned with. And Paul had seemed to know what Edward was right away.

Suddenly I remembered my conversation with Leah from a few nights ago. Leah had said that all of La Push was celebrating because the Cullen's had left. Edward had said that the Cullen's were all vampires. So did that mean that all of La Push knew what Edward was? Or maybe just the Council? How did they protect themselves, how did anyone protect themselves against not just one, but from Jessica and Angela's description, seven of those monsters?

I shuddered, wishing Sam were here, with his uncanny ability to make me feel safe. I needed to feel safe. I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind and reached for my homework. I needed to think about something else for a while, maybe doing my homework would help me center in on what the boys really were. I pulled out Trig first, wanting to get the hardest stuff done first.

The divide in my body reappeared; worry and longing that echoed my own arriving with it. Along with a destructive combination of self-loathing, pain, and anger. I shivered. These weren't my own emotions that I was feeling, but who did they belong to? And how did I suddenly manage to see them?

While I was lost in thought, a howl outside startled me from its proximity. And I'd never want to admit it to anyone lest they know how crazy I was, but the howling seemed to have some sort of soothing effect on me.

I refocused on my Trig book with grim determination. _Everything just gets more confusing by the second._ I decided to just do my homework before I focused on anything else. As I began to work, a tiny pinprick of pain appeared at the base of my skull, like a headache.

**Saturday, September 21 6:32 A.M. Forks, WA BPOV **

I did get better as the week dragged on, at least my arm did. The wound was still serious, but it wasn't so serious that they didn't let me get up and walk on Wednesday to keep my mind from going any crazier than it already had.

That tiny pinprick of a headache didn't last long, either. By Tuesday it was a dull, low throb in the back of my head, and by Friday morning, it pounded against every nerve.

Jessica had come and gone almost every day, Leah too, and while they were there I was fine, I was alright. But once they left, worry and fear engulfed me. I was so sure that Edward would come leaping in the hospital bedroom window any second that I didn't sleep at all, when the morphine didn't make me. I was too frightened. When I did sleep, I had nightmares about him arriving in my room with his blood-red eyes and his terrible white teeth. I always woke up screaming, with a nurse shaking me awake.

I wanted someone to come and take the dreams away. I wanted someone to make me feel safe again. I wanted someone who already knew the truth about this whole situation. I wanted…hell, I wanted Sam. And that was what was ridiculous. After my conversation with Sam, and then with Jared, I didn't even talk to any of the boys. I'd called Jared at least ten times, Paul only three because he was still a bit scary, and I was too scared to call Sam. Which was confusing all in itself, because I wanted Sam, I felt like I needed him; but did I need to know why I felt that way?

But the most ridiculous thing was that the longer I was in the hospital, the more clearly I could feel the divide. It's like whoever this person was, whose emotions I was feeling, was feeling the same growing longing and fear as I was. They were in pain, too. I didn't know what to think about it, only that their anxiousness made me even more anxious.

On Saturday morning, they removed the IV. My father was visiting, looking distracted. I was leaving the hospital that day, and Charlie had packed up all my clothes and stuff in a duffel bag that lay on the floor between us. I pushed my hair back behind my ear, sighing in relief when I noticed that although bulky, my bandaged arm wasn't as much of an encumberment as I'd feared. I shoved the recurring thoughts of my terror and longing aside, and asked Charlie cautiously, "Dad? What's on your mind?"

He ran his hand over the back of his neck and sighed. "We're still out looking for that trail hiker who went missing last week. You remember?" I nodded and he continued, "Well, we're going out further tonight, and if we don't find him, we'll have to label it a cold case." I knew my father hated doing that to any kind of case, even one as simple as a car that was broken into. It made him feel like a failure.

I offered him, "Well, I won't be terrible off at home, if you have to work late."

Charlie shook his head fiercely, his eyes staying glued to the floor in front of him. "No, I don't want you home alone after this. Whoever did it might get someone else." He frowned further at the floor. "Do you think that you can stay the night with the Clearwater's?"

I raised my eyebrows at his request. _He doesn't want me staying home alone? Since when?_ Then I thought about how I would be spending the evening alone in my bedroom with my super-safe bedroom window lock, and memories of a certain breaking and I thought about it like that, my mind was almost made up for me. "Sure, Dad."

He wrung his hands together, looking tired and worried at the same time. "Bella, did Jessica have to go into your room last night to get something?" I tried to remember our conversation from earlier this morning when she'd called, I still have no idea why she called me at six in the freaking morning, but I couldn't really try to appear normal for Charlie, try to remember a conversation with Jess that I'm pretty sure I didn't take part in, and try to hold off my hysteria at the same time.

I finally gave up after wallowing in thoughts of _Sam, where's Sam?_, _Need him. Want him., He's going to get me, he's going to get me., _and my personal favorite, _Not safe, not safe, need to get safe_. "No, not that I remember. Why?"

Charlie rubbed the back of his neck again, a worried look on his face. "Bella, someone broke into your room last night."

I froze, and silence engulfed my mind. Even the headache, even my hysterical thoughts of Sam and Edward were silent. I managed to choke out, "W-what?"

Charlie's voice seemed to come from far away when he said, "I don't know what they took, but I thought you might want to know." I faintly heard his phone ring, and a hurried conversation between him and the person on the other line. I didn't pay attention. Charlie sighed and stood, saying, "I've got to go, Bells, I'll call you at the Clearwater's later, ok?" I nodded dreamily. He kissed me on my cheek and left the room.

_Edward must have broken in_. There was no other answer as to who would break in. He must have been there to…to…dear God. _He's really going to kill me._

And just like that, everything snapped back into focus. The divide in my emotions was gone, but the headache was back with a vengeance. A mantra began to chant in my head, _Get to Sam. Get to Sam. Get to Sam. Get to Sam._ I knew he'd keep me safe, he'd protect me. I needed him. I wanted him.

I pushed myself off of the bed, grabbing my duffel bag of stuff from the floor that contained all of my clothes and other things from the last five days here. I walked out of the room and to the front desk, an odd sort of calm coming over me. I asked the nurse hurriedly, "I'm Bella Swan, can I check out now?"

The woman flipped slowly through some papers, and I reined myself back from snapping at her to _hurry it up_. She looked up, saying blandly, "You're all set, Miss Swan, your father checked you out when he got here."

I didn't wait for anything else. I turned and spun out of the room, racing down the halls and elevators and waiting rooms to the exit, everything blurry to me except for one purpose. _Get to Sam. Get to Sam. Get to Sam. Get to Sam._ I pushed open the hospital doors, looking around the parking lot for my red truck, finding it near the back corner.

I didn't pay much attention to the looks I got from other people when they saw my bandaged arm. Because the bandages were so thick, I couldn't wear anything with sleeves longer than a t-shirt. I shivered fiercely in the cold, which reminded me yet again of Sam, and how much I missed his warmth. That caused me to begin gasping for breath, hunched over, trying to rein in my hysterics. When I managed to calm down enough to stand and walk, I resolved not to think about how much I missed him or how terrified I was until I got to him. Thinking about when I could finish my Trig homework got me to the truck. Thinking about what was in my duffel got me into the cab, said duffel landing beside me on the seat with a thwack.

I revved the engine and tried to figure out how to get to Sam's from the hospital. I watched as my hands began to turn the wheel, my hands seeming to know where they were going even though my mind didn't. The headache seemed to increase the closer I got to Sam's. Or, at least I thought I was getting closer. I couldn't really focus, with my mind screaming _Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam.,_ and the roar of the engine, and the headache threatening to bust open my head.

Before I even knew that I had stopped, I was in front of Sam's house. I threw the truck into park and wrenched the key out. I looked, and sure enough, the monstrous white truck was in the drive. I more or less fell out of the truck, slamming the door behind me. I shivered, and walked up the stone path to the front door. My hands were shaking violently when I raised one fist to pound on the red wood, flinching at the reaction of pain my ears had to the noise. It opened almost immediately.

I gasped. My eyes rose up, up, and up to see Sam towering over me. A week without seeing him, while so very confusing and painful, had also dulled my memory of just how huge he was. He was massive, larger than any man I'd ever encountered before. But instead of being terrified, I felt relieved. He frowned heavily at me, his eyes were shielded. When he spoke, his voice was guarded too. "Bella."

I said in a rush, "I know. I know that Edward's a vampire; that the whole family is. And I don't know what you are, but I don't care. Please, Sam." I couldn't help it; I raised my arms to him like a child. His face was hard. He didn't move toward me.

Finally I lowered my arms and he said very calmly, "You should know what we are." He stepped outside, past me, and towards the forest. I leaned into his heat, trailing after him without question. I trusted him. We stepped into the woods, and after walking a bit more, Sam spun and said, "Don't ask any questions until it's over." He ripped his shirt off of his body, and I couldn't help it when my eyes locked onto his body.

He stepped out of his shoes and socks, and took a deep breath. If I would have blinked, I would have missed it, it was just so fast. There was the shredding sound of ripping clothes, and instead of Sam, a gigantic wolf stood in front of me in the clearing. It was midnight black, standing at probably seven and a half feet tall, with powerful shoulders and keen, intelligent eyes.

The air shivered around the wolf, and Sam was kneeling on all fours. Naked. I blushed and he said, "Behind you, there's a pair of shorts. Would you-" I snatched up the shorts, and tossed them to Sam. He caught them and I averted my eyes, with difficulty, while he pulled them on. He turned to face me, his eyes cold. I felt something inside me ache at the look of almost hatred in his eyes.

I cleared my throat. "So. Vampires and…werewolves?" He nodded curtly, his arms crossing over his chest. I looked away from him. I couldn't take that look, not from him. The silence hung heavily between us, I shuffled my feet. He continued to stare. I asked him cautiously, "Can you talk about it, or are you forbidden to? Or something?"

He shook his head, his eyes never leaving my face. "No, I can talk about it. I'm sorry for the confusion with the boys, but I ordered them not to tell you anything." I raised my eyes to his, defiance and hurt welling within me.

"Did you not trust me enough, Sam? Did you just not care? Or did you just want me to keep waking up screaming every night that I actually do sleep, because I'm so fucking confused and afraid?" I didn't know where my angry words were coming from, but they did have an effect.

Sam's mask fell, anger replacing the unwanted guard. "What the fuck kind of person do you think that I am?"

I yelled right back. "The kind of person who keeps secrets and hides things from someone else, someone who needs to know. Someone," I hadn't realized I was walking closer to him until he stepped back, as if he finally realized how close we were. The silent rejection hurt. I continued, "Someone who needs you."

His eyes fell onto mine, desperation among the many emotions visible before the mask fell back into place. I decided to just tell him everything, hopefully he'd quit being this new, distant Sam and go back to being my Sam. I lowered my eyes. "I guess that I knew from the beginning that you and the boys were different. I can't explain it, but I've always felt safe with you. With Jared, too, hell even Paul. I guess I always knew that you guys, you guys are special. And I…I feel like…when I'm with you and the boys…I'm really home."

My voice cracked on the word home, and I realized I was crying, softly. I squeezed my eyes shut. "I was so scared when Edward attacked me, and even when the boys showed up and I was so relieved, all I wanted was you because I knew you'd make it ok, because somehow I know that you always make it ok."

I heard Sam mutter softly, with pain in his voice, "Bella…"

I shook my head, still speaking. "And I knew once the hospital let me go that the only place I wanted to go was here, to be with you, and that if I could get to you, everything would be fine, I'd be safe, because you make me safe, and I needed you, I still need you, please Sam."

Two boiling hot arms wrapped around me, and Sam crushed me to his chest. The painfully throbbing headache disappeared almost immediately. I started to sob uncontrollably, my own arms locking around his back. I began to babble. "I missed you so much, and I was so scared all the time, I knew something was wrong because I kept calling and calling and none of the boys or you ever answered, and I had this headache but now it's gone and I think it's because of you, and then my dad told me that someone broke into my room and I knew it was him again, and I just…I wanted…I wanted you. So badly."

He pressed one large, hot hand to the back of my head, stroking the hair, and began to whisper soothingly, "Hey, it's ok. Calm down, sweetheart, you're alright. I'm here now. I'm never going to leave you again."

My eyes were still shut tight, but I started to relax. Not enough, though. Even with my cheek pressed against his chest, my fingers digging into his back, and his arms wrapped around me; it still wasn't enough. I wanted to be closer to him. I removed my arms from around his back and he froze, like he was unsure and afraid as to what I was doing. I ran my hands upwards over his chest, over the ridges of his muscles and latched onto his shoulders, lifting myself up onto my tippy toes.

He seemed to realize what I wanted because his hands anchored on my hips and lifted me up as easily as he would a pillow. I hooked my legs around his waist, one of his arms supporting me under my butt, the other around my torso. My hands drifted to run over the muscles of his upper arms, memorizing every rise, dip, and ridge. His head fell into the crook of my neck, and I felt his own tension leave him as suddenly as mine had left me. Without thinking, I turned and pressed a kiss to the side of his head, then locked my arms around him.

He gave a shuddering sigh, then said roughly, "You are never leaving La Push again."

I giggled softly, and murmured in reply, "While that's alright with me, I don't think Charlie will like it." He hmmed into my shoulder, and I sighed contentedly. My eyes slipped closed, a week without sleeping was finally catching up to me.

Sam lifted his head, his beautiful black eyes searching my face. "You look exhausted, by the way." He had finally dropped the guard he'd been wearing, and he looked a more relaxed then I had ever seen him. I continued to study his face, noting the darkness that lay like twin bruises beneath his eyes. I whispered softly, "So do you."

He grimaced. "I've been guarding you, I wanted to make sure that you were safe."

I frowned. "We need to have a talk. A really, really, really long talk." Guarding me, in his wolf form or human form? Was he the wolf that I had been hearing since the night that I had arrived, or was it one of the other boys?

He nodded too, a sigh escaping his lips. "Yeah, there's a lot to talk about. There's a lot to tell you."

I raised a hand and ghosted my fingers over his cheekbone. My smile widened when he tilted his head into the touch. "Later. Let's just get some sleep for now." I inhaled sharply, as my mind began to produce images that were really inappropriate.

His eyes gleamed. "Just sleeping, Bella. You're going to have to behave yourself."

I laughed. "You have to behave yourself too, you know." I laid my head down on one of his shoulders, and I felt him start walking back to the house. I yawned. "You are not leaving me, Sam. Not ever."

I felt his chest rumble with happy laughter. "You know, you're pushy when you're tired."

I yawned again. "I'm always pushy." His steps paused, and I heard the door open. We stepped through and it shut. I expected him to put me down when we reached the stairs, but he just rushed up them, even taking them two by two. I added that to my mental list of Things-To-Ask-Sam.

He entered a room, and laid me down on a bed, the sheets cool to the places where my skin had been heated by his. He began to move away, and I frowned. "No. C'mere. Stay." He laughed, and obeyed, slipping into the bed next to me, his arms wrapping around my waist and we tangled our legs together. He pressed his lips to my forehead, I smiled sleepily. I snuggled closer to his warmth, and kissed the bare skin of his hot chest.

Sam rumbled softly, "See you in the morning, sweetheart." I hmmed, and let sleep overtake me, willingly, for the first time in a week.

**A/N:** Sooo…Yeah. Stuff happened. Got caught up. I'm in a hurry. Love you all. Can't do the whole sneak peek thing this time. I'M SORRY DON'T KILL ME. I love you all. Again. Please review. I'm sorry. SORRY. Stuff happens. **(EDITED: 4/24/13)** So, I had to go back through and edit it, because it was embarrassing. Sorry, my darling dears! At any rate, Chapter 6 should be up in the next few days, so keep your pretty little eyeballs peeled, my lovelies!


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, not the books, not the movies, not even the wolf pack. Bummer. Please read on, **WARNING:** Some light smut ahead. Yum, yum, yum! And as a bonus…SAM POV! And Pack mind! This is Paul, this is _NEWWOLF_ and this is _**Sam.**_ Have fun, y'all!

**Saturday, September 21 1:58 P.M. Forks, WA BPOV**

That I was warm was the first thought that crossed my mind. The second was that sleep with Sam was way better than sleep by myself. I opened my eyes slowly, blinking as the russet curtain in front of me came into focus. My eyes began to study Sam's upper body with a scrutiny I hadn't been able to afford before; roaming over his bull-thick shoulders, rock-hard pecs, the eight pack abs that made me want to lick their definition, and lower. He had these muscles on his hips that jutted out just above his low-riding shorts, leading downwards to a place that I was starting to think I really wanted to see.

I trailed my fingers lightly over the planes of his hot chest, knowing that my face held an expression of awe. And want. I'd never really noticed boys for being attractive or anything before, but Sam wasn't a boy, and he wasn't just attractive. Sam was…hot, in more ways than one. I blushed and tried to stop my fingers from journeying any lower than his stomach, my fingers grazing the hard muscles in reverence.

I'd never been this forward with anyone before, but with Sam… I felt heat rush to places of my body that had yet to be explored as my mind, my dirty, filthy mind, conjured up images of Sam that I hadn't seen yet, but really, really wanted to. Sam's head thrown back not in laughter, but ecstasy. Sam's huge hands and long fingers digging into the flesh of my hips, caressing my face, cupping my breasts, kneading my ass.

I bit my lower lip, trying to shake myself from those thoughts. _Jesus, Bella, he's sleeping. You're acting like a total creep_. My eyes traveled up to Sam's jaw, the highest point I could see of him, given how close we were. My fingers edged around him and gripped his back, and I snuggled closer to him, burying my nose into his chest. Breathing in his scent.

He rumbled sleepily, startling me, "I could really get used to sleeping like this." His hands squeezed me tighter to his body before he readjusted his arms for more comfort.

I smiled. "Me too." One of his hands began to rub slow circles on the small of my back, and I figured that we had better sort out the situation in front of us before I gave into the urge to yank his handsome head down and kiss him. So I asked him quietly, "Do you want to talk about it?"

He froze, and I could almost feel his own hesitation and discomfort. I felt embarrassment and rejection rise within me as his silence continued and he pulled away from me. He sighed heavily before saying, "Bella, you have to understand. There are things that I…can't…tell you."

I nodded my head quickly, not meeting his eyes. I sat up, knowing that if he answered me the same way he had again, then I would have to leave. "Do you want to talk about it later?"

His response was, at least, quick and short. "No." At that single word, I felt hurt soar through me. _He doesn't…want me?_ I should have known, Sam was probably just being so nice to me because I was friends with his little sister and I was injured. He was probably just doing his job by protecting me. At the end of the day, I was a pale faced outsider who needed to be rescued all the goddamn time.

The divide reappeared suddenly, confusion the only thing visible. I crawled over Sam to the edge of the bed, willing myself not to collapse on top of him and beg him to trust me enough, to want to tell me, to… I shook my head. _He doesn't want you, Bella._ The words hurt like something I had never experienced before. I knew that without Sam, my life would be just as lonely and frightening as it had been in the hospital. I shuddered at the thought. I reached the end of the bed and stood, facing away from him. My voice was still quiet, but pain laced through it when I said, "I guess I'll be going, then."

I started for the bedroom door, trying to escape the place I wanted to stay before I broke down in tears. A burning hand shot out, and the next thing I knew I was lying on my back on the bed, Sam's face hovering above my own. He wore that blank mask I hated again. Through the divide, which I was strongly and really confusingly starting to believe had something to do with the man in front of me, I felt hurt and rejection echoing my own joining the confusion from before.

Sam spoke, even his words were guarded, like he was expecting me to hurt him. "Why are you leaving?" _Isn't it obvious? You don't want me here, so I'm leaving._

Instead of saying that, I lowered my eyes from his gaze and stared at the old t-shirt I wore. "I'm leaving because…Sam, if you don't want me to tell me, that's fine, I get it. If you don't want me here then I'll go." The confusion evaporated from the divide. Anger replaced it. Sam's chest rumbled and a low, animalistic growl rose from inside its depths.

His voice was deeper, rougher when he said, "Look at me." When I looked up, his coal black eyes shifted imperceptibly, they glowed and it seemed to move as if hot lava flowed beneath their surface. I felt as if his searching, hard, lava hot eyes saw straight through me and into my soul, as if with one look he suddenly knew everything about me.

In a movement so fast I didn't see it; one burning hand grabbed both of my wrists and restrained them over my head, the other bunching my shirt up under my breasts. I still wasn't afraid. The large digits of his hand clamped suddenly on my bared waist. I let my eyes roll back into my head and a small, low moan escape my lips. Heat pooled low in my belly. His hand, his heat, felt so good, so right, on my body; the rough calluses grating against my smooth skin. I bit my lower lip to restrain myself from begging him to touch me elsewhere, anywhere, everywhere.

His voice was low, rough, and dark when he said very evenly, "Let's get something crystal clear, right now. I do want you to know. Fuck, my wolf wants you to know. But unless you are inducted into the pack as a member; meaning that you renounce all ties to others outside of the pack and accept the pack as yours," He leaned closer, his hand clenching my waist tighter, his eyes feral as he said, "Unless you become one of us, there are things I can't tell you, Isabella."

I shivered at the way my name sounded as it dropped from his mouth. Like I was the most desirable thing in the world, like he wanted me with a fervor that was unmatched. Like I was something to be worshipped. His eyes burned a path over my body, and he growled again, very lightly. "I want you in my pack."

He leaned so close to me that I could see his eyes had a growing golden rim at their edges. He bared his teeth, and I felt the pool of heat expand rapidly and my breathing get shorter at his possessive, protective, and demanding visage. I wasn't ashamed that I was so completely…turned on by this. Turned on by him.

He inhaled deeply, nostrils flaring and the golden rim in his eyes brightened. His voice was different when he spoke, it held undercurrents of pure power and authority, and his words were short and harsh. "We want you with us." A constant low growl seethed from his chest, and I instinctively knew that this was his other side coming out. I had dealt with Sam Uley the man before, but now I was dealing with Sam the wolf.

Now on the other side of the divide was anger, but it paled in comparison to the desire there too. I lifted my hips up off the bed to press against his body. He growled almost viciously, but the sound didn't scare me, it only served to help a slow grin curl on my face. I moved my hips in an agonizingly slow circle, letting a moan escape me as a growl, louder this time, harsher, erupted from Sam. His hardened length pressed into my lower belly through his shorts. My hips circled again, and my head dropped backwards, gasping at the pleasure the action caused.

I lifted my head to study the huge Quileute above me. His muscles were clenched tight, his breath came heavily, and he looked like he was using all of his control. I lowered my hips, watching him intently. His hand spasmed on my waist, and I glared at him challengingly. "Is that the only way you want me?"

His eyes were burning me, the usually coal black irises were almost consumed by gold, and his pupils switched to vertical as I watched. His teeth bared. He removed his hand from my waist and shoved it underneath the back of my jeans, grabbing my ass and yanking my lower body off of the bed and tilting my hips so that my center pressed against his length. My back arched up off of the bed, and my hips ground against his. He roared, the sound was wild and deliciously dangerous.

I knew Sam would never hurt me. So when he lowered his head and his teeth clamped on a muscle where my shoulder met my neck, my head fell to the side in submission. My hands, still clamped in one of his, clenched as he thrusted his hips against me, his hand on my ass holding me to him. I moaned, and he growled as he raised his head from my neck, "I want you in every way." I opened my eyes to see his, needing to see the desire swelling in the golden and black depths, knowing now that the person on the other side of the divide definitely was Sam.

I didn't know how I could feel everything he felt, and I didn't know why, but right now, with my body pressed so tightly and wantonly to his, I really didn't care. His eyes snapped to the place where he'd bitten me, I watched an emotion similar to pride flash inside the deep pools.

I grinned. "Do you want to explore that want?" His ran his nose along my jaw, and shuddered.

"Yes. But not now." I pouted, and he laughed lowly. "I know how you feel, but we need to discuss the wolf thing. And if we go exploring, I'll want to take you." His hand crushed me to him again, and I yelled as my vision swam before me in pleasure. He said very softly, "I'll want to take all of you. And you are not ready for that yet."

I glared as he released my bottom, pulling his hand out of my jeans to trace my stomach. "What will it take to be ready?"

He sighed, and the gold receded from his irises. He released my wrists and slid a hand under my back and another under my knees. He lifted the both of us to sit on the side of the bed, and settled me in his lap. "Bella, we; meaning Jared, Paul, and I, are wolves. We're shape shifters, a pack. But, more than that, we're brothers. From our first time that we phase, or turn into the wolf, we're stronger, faster, our senses are elevated to way beyond human capacities, and our wolves become a part of us, a part of our daily lives."

I nodded in encouragement for him to continue. His thumb edged under my shirt and began to rub circles on my hip. "We are the mortal enemies of vampires; everything about them sets our teeth on edge. We had a treaty with the Cullen's when they lived here, or at least the council did, because up until I phased, there wasn't a pack. Last year, right after Leah and I broke up, I phased. I didn't know what was going on; I thought that I'd gone insane."

His eyes grew a little distant. "I couldn't phase back for three days. Harry Clearwater found me, in wolf form, and just sat down on a tree stump and explained everything. Told me what I was, how it worked, and who I was now. A protector of the tribe. Told me the reason that I phased, told me it was because of the leeches playing human next door. The only thing he didn't tell me was what I'd have to give up, because of this."

I ran my hand up and down his arm, not liking the sadness I saw in his eyes. He continued, "Anyway, the wolf thing. We also have elevated body temps; it's also one of the signs that someone's going to phase for the first time. Our injuries heal really fast, too."

I traced his bicep with one finger, and asked, "How fast?" He grinned. "Well, for example, last night Paul gave Jared three broken ribs when he punched him. He was fully healed by the time he had to run patrol."

I felt my mouth gape. "Holy shit. Wait, what's patrol?" Sam hiked me up higher on his lap, and said, "We run the border of our lands to check for any vamps that might have wandered onto them. We've been running by your house ever since that son of a bitch Edward attacked you that first night. We damn near had him one night, but it's like he knows what we're gonna do before we do it!"

I frowned. "He told me that he can read minds." Sam growled shortly and his arms tightened around me.

I looked up at him in surprise and confusion. He looked pissed. He said angrily, "Neither my wolf or I like that he even came near you." I started to smile, but I asked him, "Sam, I'm confused."

He cocked his head to one side. "About what, Isabella?" I shivered at my name. I'd always considered it to be too formal for everyday use, Isabella just wasn't me. But when Sam said it, it sounded perfect.

I shook myself from my thoughts and said, "I'm confused about what's happening between us. I've never been this comfortable with anyone before. I feel safe around you, and when you weren't…there, while I was in the hospital…" I gulped and shut my eyes tight, deciding that honesty was the best option with Sam. "I can feel this, divide, inside of me. I can feel someone else's emotions. And…I think that they're yours. But it's not just that, it's that I have this feeling. When I was in the hospital and I didn't think you were coming back, I was…I was…" His hand rose under my shirt and rubbed circles on my back. I gasped through the growing hysteria at remembering how fucked up I'd been, and would be again if he made me leave, and I just said it. "I was in agony, Sam. I don't know why, I don't know how, but I don't care. I want you, I need you."

He said softly, "Hey. Hey, it's ok. You're ok. I'm here, Isabella. I'm not going anywhere. Just calm down, Isabella, ok? Can you calm down for me?" I nodded and turned to face him directly, taking deep breaths, resting my forehead against his.

He spoke suddenly. "Isabella, I'm the Alpha of the pack. My wolf, actually, all of our wolves, is almost a sort of different personality for us. Based more on instinct. They're animals, in short." He rubbed a hand over his face before returning it to my back. "And the first time I saw you, Isabella, the first time your eyes met mine, I felt gravity shift. I didn't know until I asked the Council, but there's something that happened when I first laid eyes on you. It's called imprinting."

I felt my face screw up, and I tried the word out. "Imprinting? Like with the baby geese and stuff?" That really didn't explain anything.

Sam shook his head, frowning. "No, not really. With us wolves, imprinting is when we look at one girl and…we're connected. Instantly. It's believed that a wolf's imprint has special abilities, but since there hasn't been one in forever, we're kinda just going off of legends. It's really rare that an imprint happens, but for wolves with really strong bloodlines, it seems to happen more often."

I felt something snap into place. "I'm your imprint?" He nodded and I smiled in excitement. "So that means that I'm yours anyway, right?"

He nodded; a slight smile on his face. "Isabella, just because you are my imprint doesn't mean you're a part of the pack just yet." I huffed, and he started laughing.

Suddenly, he froze, his laughter stopping just as abruptly as it had begun. He moved me off of his lap and raced to the chest of drawers in the bedroom. I felt panic and sorrow sweep into the divide, as well as a slight edge of irritation. Before I could ask what was wrong, he was already saying, "Someone new just phased. I need to go out there and-"

I flapped my hand at him in a move reminiscent of Jessica. "Say no more, Sam."

He pulled out a pair of scissors and a pair of cutoffs similar to the ones he wore. He headed for the door, but I stopped him and motioned him to come towards me. He kneeled in front of me without complaint, although his eyes were quizzical. I gathered my courage and kissed his lips lightly. They were warm, firm, and felt so damn good against mine, but I made myself stop before I could beg him to stay, knowing he was needed by his pack. "Go. Good luck."

And he was gone. I sighed as Sam's emotions disappeared, and stood. I stretched my muscles, and my stomach grumbled. I spotted a phone on the bedside table and decided to call my father and let him know if he wanted to find me, until further notice I was at Sam's.

I dialed the station, breathing a sigh of relief when Charlie answered. "Sheriff's office, Chief Swan speaking."

I smiled and said, "Hey, Dad, it's me Bella. I just wanted you to know that I'm still going to the Clearwater's tonight, but I, uh-"

He interrupted me with confusion evident in his voice. "Bella, why are you calling from Sam Uley's?"

Shit. He had Caller ID at the station. "Uh, well, I came over here to tell him thank you for all of his help while I was in the hospital, and to tell his friends thank you for saving me after I got attacked by the, uh, wild animal." I rolled my eyes at myself; I was such a bad liar. I didn't know how long I could keep the truth about the matter from Charlie; he'd surely know something was up.

He said very cautiously, "Well, as long as you're at the Clearwater's by ten thirty, I think you can stay awhile."

I grinned broadly. "Thanks, Dad! I gotta go, talk to you later!" I hung up before I could hear him say anything else, and walked out the bedroom door, stumbling down the stairs toward the kitchen. _I think that with the guys being, well, guys; they might respond well to a thank-you of food._

I remembered how well they seemed to like it the last time that I had cooked for them, and smiled. _Maybe spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, and a salad if Sam has the stuff for it. He did the last time I was here…_ And so I set about to getting some food together for my favorite boys. My protectors. And soon to be, though I didn't know it yet, my pack.

**Saturday, September 21 3:17 P.M. Forks, WA SPOV**

Sometimes I really hated being a werewolf. All I could think about as I ran out into the woods was Bella. Waking up with her body wrapped around mine, her tiny hands running all over my chest, her face looking happier and more content than I had ever seen her, and her scent. Holy god, her scent. Sweet, florally, and so fucking addictive.

But her body, dear gods help me. She'd surprised the hell out of me this morning when she basically started grinding on me in bed. Isabella. In my bed. Isabella. Her head thrown back, that lust I'd seen this morning filling her eyes, and that fucking smell that I knew, I just fucking knew, was her getting wet. That was something my wolf really seemed to like, as I heard him growl in appreciation. _Mine._

I rolled my eyes at his common, possessive thought. He always said stuff like that around Bella. Earlier this morning, his urges had been to; _Take. Take. Take. Take. TAKE._ Just thinking about her tiny, warm body pressed against mine had me hard already.

I growled in irritation at the memories from this morning running through my head. That was not like me. I didn't just throw myself at women like that, like I did this morning. I didn't do things like that, practically attack a woman and roar in her face. But Bella was different, too.

This morning, she hadn't turned tail and run when I'd phased. Or when I'd been roaring and growling and acting like a goddamn animal in bed. She'd just handed my possessive attitude right back to me, and the fire in her eyes when she'd said, _"Is that the only way you want me?"_ had just about made me wolf out, right on top of her. I really, really liked it when she looked like that.

I liked her anyway she looked. And goddamn, if I hadn't wanted to stay when she'd pulled me close to her and kissed me just now. I shook my head. I couldn't have stayed, and for some weird reason she was ok with what I was and the requirements, even if she didn't know their full extent or how this whole thing really worked. I decided, as I stripped naked in the forest and tied my cutoffs to my leg that that was something that needed to change.

When I phased, I immediately noticed Paul was already with the new wolf.

'Calm down, Embry. You're going to be ok_.'_

"_Ok. OK? OK?! How the FUCK am I going to be FUCKING OK?! What the fuck is going on here, where the fuck AM I, how the fuck can you read my thoughts, how the fuck can I read yours, how the fuck is this going to be OK?!"_

'_**Embry Call.'**_

"_WHAT THE FUCK WHO ARE YOU?!"_

'_**Sam Uley. Calm down, son, you're going to be alright. No. Don't speak. **__**Calm your mind, Embry.**__**'**_

I felt his mind immediately begin to calm with the Alpha order, though he was still completely wigged out.

"_What's going on, seriously I don't know what happened, one minute I was talking to Leah, and the next I'm, I'm, I'm…"_

He looked down, and through the pack mind I saw him looking at his own front paws. He was phased, and he wasn't angry, but he was shaking. Not as badly as Paul or Jared had been, and from what I knew of Embry he'd always been rather calm, so I hoped that this one wouldn't be as bad as Jared's first phase, or worse; Paul's.

'_**Embry, look back on the bonfires that you have attended since you can remember. Remember the stories that are told of Taka Ahi and his spirit warriors. The shape shifters. They are the protectors of the tribe. They are the leaders. They are the warriors.'**_

"_You can't seriously think that those stories are real."_

Even though he said that he still doubted us, I knew from his mind that he knew that we were speaking the truth. But being told that you turn into a giant wolf wasn't exactly the most fun conversation to have.

'_**Paul, phase out, will you? You and Jared should go get something to eat before patrol. You have three hours, you hear?'**_

'Yeah, yeah, yeah. Too-da-loo, Alpha dearest!_'_

A shiver ran down my back when he phased, just as I reached the clearing in which Embry was pacing nervously.

'_**Embry, did Leah see your change?'**_

'_I don't know, dude, I was too busy worrying about the fact that I just turning into a FUCKING WOLF FOR FUCKS SAKE! TELL ME WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!'_

I decided that no, this wasn't like Paul or Jared's first phases at all. Embry didn't care about anything other than knowing what was going on with his body. He was focused on the moment, and for now, that was good. I could work with that. I sat down on my hind legs in the grass, facing the chocolate brown wolf. He was much smaller than me, but still huge when compared to the trees next to the both of us. I wuffed through my muzzle, the closest thing to sighing, and launched into the same explanation that Harry Clearwater had given me.

**Saturday, September 21 6:17 P.M. Forks, WA SPOV**

'_**Embry, can you run the border until Paul and Jared phase in? Then stop by my house, it's-"**_

I showed him a series of mental images of the forest from the clearing we were at to my house. Embry had taken the whole 'giant wolf' thing well. When he'd finally phased back for the first time he'd started to cry while I cut his hair and had him recite the preliminary vows of the Spirit Warriors. I honestly hadn't known what to do other than let him run for awhile, he needed to run off his energy so he could get some sleep tonight.

"_Yeah. I'll be fine."_

I threw a guard up on my thoughts as I raced back to my house, wishing beyond anything that I could see Bella again. I hated seeing how broken up he was about this, not being able to tell his best friends about something this fucking life changing, and having to share a common mental link with three guys he barely even knew. _Bella. Bella. Bella. Bella._ I growled in irritation at my wolf. Jesus, Harry had said my wolf might be a little over-eager to spend time with her, but this was just fucking ridiculous.

With my house in sight, I could already hear Jared and Paul bickering and nit-picking at each other, and with a doggy smile on my face, I phased back and shoved my shorts on. _Fucking weirdoes._ We were still brothers, but if they weren't the craziest boys I knew. The front door opened, and I halted when the smell of a freshly cooked meal hit my nose, along with a sweet, floral scent that sent my heart pounding.

_Isabella._

There was no way, no way that she had stayed. And there was no way, absolutely no fucking way, that she was standing in my doorway, looking even more beautiful than when I'd last seen her three hours ago.

"Sam?" Her voice was like heaven to my ears, and I found myself running faster than necessary to her. My arms, seemingly of their own accord, wrapped around her and pulled her up to my chest, her legs locking around my waist. I buried my face into the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent like I was a fucking drug addict. Her voice was calmer than I'd thought it would be, given my actions, and had a touch of humor to it when she said, "Hey."

I grinned into her neck. "Hey back." We were silent for a bit, and I asked her, "You stayed?" She threaded her tiny hands into my short cropped hair and murmured an affirmation.

I squeezed her tighter to me and she said very quietly, "Your brothers are waiting for you in the kitchen, they helped me make some dinner. And Jared helped me change the bandages on my arm. Paul just kinda sat on the counter and bitched about his homework." I turned my head to her arm and sniffed it. I relaxed when it didn't smell any worse than before, if anything it smelled like it was healing. I lifted my head to face the beautiful girl in my arms.

"Wait, you made dinner?" At her nod, I continued, "Why are you so ok with all of this?" It was just that none of us, not me, not Jared, not Embry, and certainly not Paul, had been as ok with the werewolf stuff as Bella seemed to be. But then again, Bella didn't know everything about it. _Yet._ Yet, I amended. As much as my wolf wanted Bella, I was sure that I wanted her more.

Bella shrugged. "Well, like I said, I knew that there had to be something different about you guys. You turn into a giant wolf. I have a vampire out to kill me. We all have our dirty little secrets." I grinned and heard a stifled guffaw from the kitchen, and rolled my eyes, knowing that the boys were in there, eavesdropping.

"Come on, Bells, let's go inside, shall we?" I didn't put her down, though she wasn't complaining, and when I shut the door behind us I called out, "Didn't anyone ever tell you that eavesdropping was impolite?"

Jared and Paul groaned in disappointment as Bella and I entered the kitchen. The food, which was about half gone due to, in no small part I'm sure, the two large and hungry werewolves currently pouting at the kitchen island. Jared spoke up. "How do you always know everything we do?"

I grinned arrogantly. "I'm the Alpha. It's my job." Paul rolled his eyes and stood. "Oh Jesus Christ. Come on, idiot, time to patrol."

Jared stuck his tongue out at Paul, but rose anyway. "Dick. Ruining my fun. Thanks for the food, Bells, it was amazing."

Paul surprised the hell out of me when he said lazily, "Yeah, it wasn't too fucking bad. See ya around, alright?" Bella nodded and waved goodbye to the both of them. I called out, "Hey, make sure and send Embry back here, ok?" Both of them just made vague affirmation sounds but I turned back to the island anyway, knowing my request would be carried out.

Bella asked me curiously, "Embry Call? He's the new phase?" I nodded and sat down at the island, settling my imprint more comfortably on one thigh. Bella ran a thumb over my forehead, which was creased with worry. I turned to look at her, and was immediately lost in her beautiful brown eyes. She whispered, "You know that I believe in you, right? You can take care of it, whatever the problem is."

I wrapped one arm around her small waist and gripped her tightly. When she winced I immediately drew back. "Bella?" She blushed and lifted her t-shirt to reveal a large bruise that perfectly matched my hand. I gulped. "I did that?" She nodded, and I gingerly lifted her hands into the light. Sure enough, bruises lay on the delicate skin of her wrists, too. I felt my breathing get a little shallow. "I'm sorry. I should have been more careful-"

She shook her head firmly, cutting me off. "No. I liked it, Sam. You know I did." I sure as hell did, she wasn't the only one who could feel the 'divide' as she called it. She was about as lost in lust this morning as I had been. But if I had listened to my wolf and just fucked her senseless on my bed, I would have laid the claiming mark on her neck. And fuck my life; she deserved at least a decision about this. That's why I had tortured the both of us with that week from hell by staying away from her, because I needed to be able to convince myself to let her make a fucking choice about this. Even if I didn't want to give her one. Even if my wolf didn't want to give her one. She should still know what the fuck she was getting into if she chose to be part of the pack.

Bella placed a gentle, lingering kiss on my cheek, and I felt my arm tighten around her. She grinned against my skin. "You should probably eat something; I bet they can hear your stomach growling all the way up to Port Angeles." I grunted, but complied. I would be a liar if I said that I wouldn't do anything for my girl. And who was I, to deny her something she wanted?

I ate in silence as she traced her fingers over the muscles of my chest, my arms, even my back. She had this adorable look of concentration on her face, like she was memorizing every single detail of my body. She caught me staring at her staring at me, and blushed. "Sorry, I just, um-"

I swallowed my mouthful of food and said quietly, "Don't be." She blushed again and lowered her eyes. I set my fork down and turned to her more directly. "Bella, you know about us now. You know the risks we take, the duties we have. And it might not be easy, but I wanted to ask you if…" She was staring at me, wide-eyed, as I finished lamely, "If you wanted to date me?"

I mean, fuck. I only ever just thought about her. And from what Harry had told me, imprints were forever. Unchangeable. Unbreakable. And I really couldn't see myself with anyone other than Bella. She was mine, if she wanted to be.

She searched my face seriously. "Sam, are you asking this as a human, or is this part of becoming part of the pack?"

I knew lying to her would only hurt both of us in the end, so I said, "Bella, I do want you in the pack. But I think that you deserve a choice. So I want you to give it a trial-run, of sorts. The whole boyfriend-girlfriend thing with the late night phone calls and the throwing rocks at your windows, but if we could just skip all the other drama and shit, that'd be great. Being a wolf is hard enough." _Are you fucking kidding me with that? She's gonna get up and leave, you idiot!_

She giggled, the sound music to my ears. "Yeah. I think that we can skip all the other drama and shit." I felt my eyes bug out of my head. She really did not just react to my statement like that.

I cleared my throat and asked my imprint, "Is that a yes, Isabella?" She shivered, and through the window in my emotions, I saw contentment and pleasure run through her. Huh. So she liked it when I called her by her full name. Who knew?

She grinned very widely and said softly, "That's a big yes, Samuel." My eyes snapped into slits and I growled. Fuck, what my name sounded like when she said it like that. All low and sexy. Like she thought that I was the most perfect man in the universe, like she was promising all sorts of devotion and…other things…to me.

Instead of her being scared out of her fucking mind at the in-human sounds I was making, she just shook her beautiful head in amusement. "Fuck, Sam, but if I don't love it when you do that."

I was about to answer her when a knock sounded on my front door and it opened. I inhaled, and knew it was Embry. He called out, "Sam?"

"In here, Embry." He looked like hell when he got to us. Leaves and twigs in his hair, burrs on his body, and a few cuts on his skin. Bella gasped and got up. "Oh my God, Embry, come here."

He obliged without question, and I watched in fascination as she began to clean him up, removing the debris and vegetation from his body and cleaning off the drying blood with a damp cloth, neither of them seeming at all thrown off by the interaction.

She scolded him lightly, "I'm Bella, but we can get to that later, did you get into a fight with one of your brothers?" It was the only explanation I could think of, but he shook his head, and said blushingly, "No. With a bear." When he glanced at the look on my face he held his hands out to either side of his body in a gesture of innocence and said, "What, he started it!"

I chortled in amusement and Bella glared at me before turning back to the young wolf and saying, "Well, did you win?" He nodded, grinning, and Bella allowed herself a smile. "Good." She pointed to the food on the table. "Now, eat up, and then straight to bed, do you hear? You've got to be exhausted."

I cocked my head at her and she asked, "Oh, you do have a guest bedroom, right Sam?" I nodded, smiling. "Who says he's staying with me?"

Embry froze in the middle of eating a slice of garlic bread but Bella just said simply, "Well of course he's staying with you, where else would he go?" Embry gave me a small shrug, but I could see a relieved smile on his face. It was just something that the new pups of the pack did; they just wanted to be near their Alpha after their first phase. It was always a rough night, or day, or week, if you were Paul. But the interaction Embry was having with Bella, that the rest of the pack was having with Bella, was leading me to believe that there was more to our imprinting bond than what the legends said.

Bella patted Embry's shoulder and looked sadly at the clock on the microwave. "I should be going, soon." I frowned, asking, "Why?"

She shrugged, and then an excited look came over her face. "Oh my god, I've got it. I'll go back to the Clearwater's and call my dad, then I'll just convince Leah to cover for me, and I'll come back here." Embry's head had shot up at the mention of the word Clearwater, and now asked hurriedly, "Bella, do you know Leah well?" She nodded, and asked him quizzically, "Why?"

He ran a hand through his newly cropped hair. "Because she and I were walking together in the woods when I phased for the first time." Bella's face immediately cleared of all confusion.

"Oh." Silence fell around the room and she said, a thought crease on her forehead, "Ok, new plan. I go back to the Clearwater's and…talk to Leah about this whole thing." I sighed heavily.

"Normally, I'd say no, you can't tell anyone about this." I motioned between the three of us to indicate the werewolf thing. "But, given that she already knows and that her father already knows, and probably her mother, too…I don't think that it's gonna be a problem."

Bella nodded and huffed. "Now I'm going to have to wait until tomorrow to see you." I laughed and Embry gave her a strange look, before shaking his head and continuing to eat. He probably didn't care what the hell went on between Bella and me as long as he got food. And my Isabella was a damn good cook.

Bella motioned to me and began to walk outside. "Bye, Embry. Take care, alright? No fights with bears!" He laughed. I opened the door for her, and she turned to face me. She craned her neck to look up at my face, and smiled prettily. "I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" I nodded and traced a finger against her cheek.

Her eyes slipped closed and her hands fluttered up to mine. I captured her wrists and kissed the bruises I'd left, silently asking for an apology. I kneeled in front of her and lifted her shirt to unveil the ugly bruise there, too. I pressed my lips to it, and her hands fell to my hair. I would never admit it to her, but my wolf took a selfish delight in seeing my marks on her. He felt like she was his, anyway. Bella whispered so quietly even my own enhanced hearing was damn near unable to detect it, "You're forgiven." I stood, and she cupped my face in both hands before cautiously dragging my face down to hers. She kissed my cheek, instead of my mouth like I'd thought she would, and began to turn away.

I caught her shoulders and spun her to me, before planting my lips on hers. She gasped but hooked her arms around my neck and pulled me closer to her. I gripped her hips tightly with my hands, being careful not to bruise her this time. My mouth plundered hers; forcing hers to open so my tongue could explore the sweet, warm depths. She gave as good as she got, clutching me closer to her every time I tried to pull away. I did manage to free myself, and trailed kisses, scraping my teeth, and pausing briefly to gently suck at the on the column of her pale, beautiful neck down to the place I already knew had been bruised: the juncture of her neck and shoulder, where a perfect impression of my teeth lay.

I kissed the area again, and she moaned softly. I growled as I fastened my teeth on the mark again, exactly where they'd been hours ago. Bella's grip on my hair turned almost painful, and she said, gasping, "Fuck. Yes." My chest rumbled again, but I released her.

Her eyes were lidded again, and I knew if I inhaled deeply, I'd smell her arousal. The thought made me harder. She reached for me again, but I held up one hand. "Hold up there, Isabella." Shiver. "You and I both know where anything like that's gonna take us if we keep going."

She nodded, her eyes holding that same fiery challenge as this morning. "And if I want to go there?"

I yanked her into my arms, hauling her up so she could look me in the eye when I said this. "Isabella, being wolves, there are certain…things that happen. If we have sex, I'll want to claim you as mine. It's one of those things. Mating season is one of those things." _Well fuck you, asshole, what a way to tell her. Why don't you make some clever analogy about how you are basically a bitch in heat for her right now?_

Bella's eyes widened, and she breathed, "You want me to be your mate?" I froze. I hadn't really expected her to make the connection, but I knew she was smart, I should've known she would.

I nodded. She said blandly, "Wolves…they mate for life in the wild. Do you guys?" Nod. "So when you say join the pack, do I have to like, lose my virginity to you in front of everyone, or-"

I felt my face twist into a horrible expression. "NO. I don't want anyone to see you naked and wanton but me." She shivered again, and that smell hit my nose. I pushed on. "There's a ceremony, a ritual of sorts that you have to go through. You will renounce all claims to anyone not of your own flesh and blood outside of the pack, and accept the pack as part of your family, as part of yourself. You're my imprint, but even so, as a member of the pack you would have the right to any one of the available male wolves." My wolf roared, _MINE!_, and I couldn't help but agree with him. But Bella needed, deserved, to know.

She nodded slowly. "So basically, I'd still be Charlie and Renee's daughter, but I can't have like, romantic feelings about anyone outside of the pack?" I frowned heavily. "Well, yeah. And it's even more complicated. Jared used to hang out with the partying crowd before he joined the pack, but after he phased, he couldn't stand to be around the people he'd grown up best friends with anymore. He's only friends with a few other people outside of the pack, and those people all have the werewolf gene."

She had that look on her face like she was thinking way too hard. "So the only people he's friends with are the people who have the possibility of entering the pack? Is it that way for all of you?" I nodded, wondering how in the hell she was going to react to this bombshell. She looked at me hard, and said, "I know that that's not one of your Alpha orders."

I was quick to reassure her. "No, no. It's just something that happened." She sighed and rested her forehead against mine. "This is a lot to take in. Can we talk about this tomorrow?" I nodded.

I set her down, and she gave me a small smile. "I'll have to think on it. But I will see you tomorrow." She pulled me down and quickly pressed those soft, lusciously full lips to mine again before whispering, "Good night." I watched her make her way to her truck, get in, and drive away.

"Good night, Isabella."

**A/N:** So, what do you think? This is the longest chapter yet, and I've worked the hardest on it, and as such, so far I am the most proud of it. Please, please, PLEASE! REVIEW! I will love you if you do, it's amazing and wonderful and I adore it. Wish me luck on my big goddamn final things next week! I love you guys! (Even though I love possessive Sam and possessive Paul more! Hell, possessive ANYPACKMEMBER!)


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** (Hides behind brick wall.) I don't own anything. I love you. Please don't kill me. Yes, I hate myself too. Please read on.

**Saturday, September 21 6:32 P.M. La Push, WA BPOV**

When I pulled into the Clearwater's driveway, I noticed that someone was waiting for me. Quil Ateara Sr., or Old Quil, watched me with somber eyes as I climbed cautiously out of my truck and walked up to the Clearwater's front porch, trying not to trip in front of him. I stopped on the bottom step, the reedy elder towering over me. His weathered face was calm, but his black eyes seemed fathomless, wise beyond anyone's reckoning.

His voice was slow and deep. "Isabella Swan. It has come to the attention of the Council of Elders that you are aware of our greatest secret." I swallowed heavily, nodding. _Oh, shit._ He continued, just as slow and steady, "Under normal circumstances, I would not be pleased with you holding this precious knowledge in your hands. You are not of our tribe or of any tribe which shares our beliefs." He shifted his stance and folded his arms across his once powerful chest. He continued in that same, unnerving deep voice, "Under normal circumstances, some would not believe you worthy of any of the knowledge you now possess, and certainly not the access you have to our Pack."

I felt anger rise within me, but his heavy stare silenced any of my angry words, though the thoughts still seethed in my chest. _How dare he say things like that? I'm Sam's imprint, and if he wants me in the Pack there's not a damn thing that the Council can do about it._ I crossed my arms over my chest in a small display of defiance.

Old Quil's deep eyes softened as they traveled over me in a way similar to the way an uncle looks at his favorite niece. "But, things change. Circumstances change." He sighed deeply. "Circumstances, my dear, like the Cullen's being so intent on your death. Circumstances like your soul mating to soul of the Alpha."

I admit, I choked on my tongue a bit. "Excuse me?" _Does that mean that he knows about the imprinting thing and all?_ _Does he know about everything?_ I cleared my throat and said, "Sir, as I'm sure you are aware, I'm not quite aware of everything that goes into being part of the werewolf pack. Or what it means to be an imprint to a werewolf, even. It was made clear to me that in order to deserve the knowledge of such, I would have to be-"

Here, Old Quil nodded his head, and interrupted, "Inducted into the pack, yes. Which is why I am here. The Council of Elders requests that you and Leah Clearwater join us tomorrow when the sun sets on First Beach."

His voice booked no argument. I nodded mutely. What did I have to lose? Old Quil then turned and left without so much as a, 'See ya'. I watched his stooping back walk away until he passed behind a line of trees on the road, blocking him from my view. I turned back to the Clearwater's porch, noticing there was a faint red smear on the pale wood by the door, peeking out from underneath a brand-new looking floor mat. I shuddered at the memory.

I stepped up to the door and knocked, still thinking about my last visit here. Sue opened the door wide, smiling. "Well, look here. It's Bella! Good to see you out of the hospital, finally!" I grinned.

"It's great to be out of there, Sue. I get to walk for more than ten minutes a day, now." Sue laughed, and motioned me inside.

The Clearwater's house hadn't changed in the years since the last time I'd visited. The same pale yellow wall paint, the same pale wood floors, even the same ugly worn red jacket hanging from the rack next to the door. The only thing that seemed to have changed was the amount of pictures on the walls that featured all four Clearwater's. Sue gestured to the kitchen, dining room, living room, and downstairs bathroom as we passed them, then walked me upstairs.

"You're going to be bunking with Leah tonight, ok?" At my nod, she continued, "Leah's a bit strung out right now; she got into a fight with one of her friends earlier today. So if she snaps at you…" Here Sue turned to me and whispered conspiratorially, "You snap right back. I won't have this namby-pamby business of her skulking in her room."

I grinned at the older woman and nodded. "Yes, Nurse Clearwater." She pointed to a plain white door.

"She's in there, why don't you go in and try to talk her 'round, ok?" Sue disappeared down the hallway as she said this, so I turned back to Leah's bedroom door and went inside.

Leah was sitting on her bed, huddled against the wall and clutching a pillow. Her pretty eyes were red and puffy, the Kleenex box next to her was empty, and she looked scared out of her wits. She asked me very quietly, "You weren't attacked by a wild animal, were you?"

I shook my head. "No, I wasn't."

She raised her eyes to mine, a challenging gleam in them. "Then what happened?"

I realized that here I had two options. I could lie to Leah about the truth and have her wait until tomorrow night to find everything out, or I could just tell her everything that I knew as of right now.

"Edward Cullen tried to kill me." Leah didn't say anything, she just patted the space next to her on the bed. I sat, and I launched into an explanation of what had become my life.

**Sunday, September 22 9:20 A.M. La Push, WA BPOV**

Leah took the news that vampires and werewolves existed very well, though she still refused to tell me what exactly happened between her and Embry when he phased. She would just look away and change the subject. When she found out that all of the Cullen's had been vampires, she'd simply wrinkled up her nose and said, "I knew something was wrong with those fuckers from day one."

In short, Leah couldn't have cared less that some of the people she had grown up with now turned into giant hairy dogs on a regular basis. She was just pissed off that no one saw fit to tell her, but did tell her brother all about it. After finding out that the Council of Elders was behind it, she promptly informed her father, since he was on said council, that until further notice they weren't on speaking terms.

"Leah, come on. It's not like he could tell you!" And that left Sue, Leah's younger brother Seth, and I playing mediator.

Leah ignored Seth's pleading tone. "If he wants to be a dick and hide things like this from his family, well then I am allowed a period of shunning." I rolled my eyes. Leah really could amp up the drama if she so chose.

I tried, "Leah, you're going to have to talk to him tonight anyway. We have that meeting thing with the Council on First Beach." I cringed when the gauze scraped across my stitches. The four of us were in the kitchen, eating a late breakfast on Seth's part, taking turns between ranting and silence on Leah's, and changing my bandages on mine and Sue's.

_I wonder if I should teach Sam how to do this._ I shoved the thought aside, he had too much on his mind already. I didn't want him worrying more about me than he had too.

Sue scolded me, "Stop squirming, you're only making it worse. Now I have to start all over." I groaned. _Would I hate it this much if Sam was one the one doctoring me up? _I promptly told myself to shut it.

"Trust me to be the one lucky enough to get injured within a week of coming home." I really hated the way that the anti-inflammatory cream Sue had rubbed on my arm smelled. Like Pine Sol and hospital. Ick.

Sue clucked her tongue. "Hush, Bella. Two more days and the stitches come out." She finished wrapping the gauze and held her hand out to Seth. "Athletic tape and the clip, please." Her son handed both to her without a word, turning immediately back to shoveling scrambled eggs in his mouth. Sue said as she finished doctoring me up, "Leah, I know you think you are being perfectly reasonable and sound minded here, but I think you're being rather ridiculous."

Leah huffed angrily, her eyes narrowing at her mother. "Tell me something. Why did Seth get to know before I did, and the only reason I know is because a kid phased right in front of my face?"

This time Seth answered, his usual sunny attitude gone. "Because I have the werewolf gene." Leah didn't have a comeback to that. _More than four wolves? How many people have the gene?_ When I glanced at Sue, she seemed to have frozen in putting away her medical supplies. Seth continued, "Technically, we both have the werewolf gene." Silence. Seth poked at his food with his fork, not meeting anyone's eyes. "But Dad says that there's never been a girl werewolf, and he said that since I'm only fifteen, I'm too young to phase yet."

Leah very slowly walked over to her brother. She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, and I saw Seth grin a little as she did so. Leah wasn't really the type of person to offer comfort, but when it came to Seth I knew she would do her damnedest to try.

And just as suddenly as the little moment happened, it was over. Leah flipped her hair over her shoulder and said breezily, "Well, as fun as talking about this whole thing is, I think I'm gonna go back up to my room for a while."

Sue called out after her, but Leah was already up the stairs. Sue sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I've got to go to work. Bella, your father called while you were still sleeping. He got in late last night on the missing hiker case, so I think he said he's sleeping today while Farris holds down the fort, but he'll be going back in for a night shift tonight."

I turned to face her more directly. "Is everything still a disaster at the station?" She nodded.

"Yes. The body is almost completely mutilated, Charlie said he'd never seen any animal do something like that to prey." She began to gather up her things, saying, "Charlie also asked me to let you stay here until the stitches come out of that arm, which I think is a good idea, because I don't want you falling on it or hitting it or re-opening it somewhere where no one knows how to help you."

Seth said very seriously, "Do you think we should get her a Life Alert button?"

I threw the roll of athletic tape at his head. Sue and Seth laughed at my affronted expression. "I am injured, not elderly, Seth. Lacerations do not a frail body make."

Seth shrugged, saying innocently, "I don't know, your body looked pretty frail when you collapsed on our front porch. I spent four hours trying to scrub all the blood off of the wood."

I threw my good arm up in the air in protest. "I still don't need a Life Alert button!"

Sue shook her head in amusement. "I'll see you crazy kids later. Don't forget I have to change that bandage tonight when I get home, I don't care if I have to wake you up to do it. Bye, kids!" Seth and I both yelled our own goodbyes as she walked out the front door, still glaring at one another.

Seth grinned, and said in a high falsetto, "Help, I'm Bella and I've fallen and hurt myself again! Make sure to bring some bleach and a scrub brush to get the blood stains out of the carpet!"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, shut up. I'm older than you." _Nice one, Bella. Nice._

He grinned wider. "I have the possibility of turning into a giant wolf. While you remain a human who gets hurt a lot. Because of their own actions."

I pointed my finger at him, actually kind of enjoying the quipping. "Listen here, mister, I'll have you know that I am a human who may get hurt a lot, but I survived a vampire attack. Beat that."

Seth pointed to a picture of him and Leah on the wall that I hadn't noticed before, it looked like it had been taken a couple years ago and it looked like they were wrestling. "Leah taught me how to wrestle so well I'm on the Varsity team as a freshman."

I grinned. "I was on the Varsity Math Competition team in sixth grade."

"I can throw a football almost as long as a whole football field."

"I can do a cartwheel."

"I have watched every single episode of _Sex and the City_."

"I watched the Notebook and didn't cry."

"I watched Titanic and didn't cry."

I leaned back in my chair, grinning. "I once ate nothing but bird entrails for a week." One of Renee's more brilliant ideas.

Seth looked positively disturbed. "What? Ew. Gross. No, really. Yuck. How did you live? How are you still alive?"

I sighed delicately and said, "When one injures oneself often enough, they build up a high tolerance for uncomfortable situations and pain, as well as the nifty bonus of a strong stomach."

Seth shuddered; his face looked haunted by whatever mental images he was conjuring. "I believe you have won this round, Bella. I have nothing to top that." Then his face cleared, and he grinned. "Yet. I still have a full life ahead of me."

I snorted. "And I don't? I'm not that much older than you, Seth."

Seth shook his head, frowning. "I'm not talking about you not living longer than me because of age, Bella. You're going to die before I do because-" Here he kind of choked on the words a little bit, his face clouding for a brief second before irritation covered it. "Oh, hell."

I spread my hands out in front of me, dreading what I thought was coming. "What?"

He shook his head. "I can't tell you. Orders."

_Guessed it on the nose, Bella. _My eyes narrowed. "Did Sam order you to not tell me anything too?" _Sam was still keeping secrets from me? _ At his guilty nod, I continued icily, "Well, I don't care. From now on, you have permission to tell me anything you want to tell me. Is that clear?" I was pissed. I was a goddamn imprint, for fucks sake. I was the _Alpha's_ imprint. Did that not mean anything except that my only purpose was for having sex with the wolf who I was mated to?

Seth seemed a little frightened. "Crystal clear, Bella." I ignored him and continued fuming. Did being outside of the pack and not a full member mean that I would have to deal with more secrets and more lies than before? Did it mean that if I choose to not become a member of the pack, that I would have to deal with not knowing anything, all the time?

I stood up angrily. "Fuck the order, Seth. What is it that you can't tell me?" He shook his head, his face miserable. I felt something stir within me. I hated being lied to, and I hated secrets. Especially when they had something to do with the people closest to me. "Seth." The stirring of something iron-willed and determined rose further. My voice sounded different, almost resonant, when I said very clearly, "You will tell me."

He spoke in a rush, "Werewolves live forever as long as they keep phasing. Most werewolves chose to give up phasing for one reason or another or have died fighting leeches, but there have been some in the legends who are supposed to have lived for centuries."

I sat down heavily in my chair, the powerful feeling gone. Werewolves were immortal?

I must have said it out loud, because Seth frowned and said, "Not really. It's complicated." We were silent for a little while before Seth whispered, "How did you do that?"

I rubbed my eyes, feeling a headache coming on. "Do what, Seth?"

"Break the order." My head snapped up to stare at him. His face was half curious, half awed. _I broke one of Sam's orders?_ I'd never done that before. Too be honest, I didn't think that anyone had done something like that before.

"I don't know, Seth. Aren't the Alpha's orders supposed to be _un_-breakable?" He nodded in response to the whispered words. I sat back further in my chair. _I broke one of Sam's orders. _Maybe Sam was right. Maybe there was more to being an imprint than anyone realized.

I sighed, leaning my head in my hands. "This is so fucked up." It was. I didn't know up from down anymore, it felt like. Normal things that normal teenagers like Jessica and Angela worried about, like homework and partying and sex; was lost in a supernatural shitstorm of vampires, werewolves, near death experiences, and fucking _ORDERS_.

A large hand began to pat my good arm awkwardly. Seth's voice was understanding when he said, "Yeah, it kind of is." His hand was relatively warm to me; I noticed when he retracted the limb. I remembered Sam's deep voice saying, _"It's one of the signs that someone's about to phase."_

I pushed the thought from my mind. Harry had said that Seth was too young. And even if he wasn't, Seth's body temperature didn't seem nearly as hot as Sam's or the other boys. _Seth is not on the verge of phasing, Bella._ At least, I hoped.

**Sunday, September 22 7:57 P.M. La Push, WA BPOV**

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

Leah's foot tapping was driving me crazy. She, Seth, and I had each spent the day trying to sort through this wonderful fountain of knowledge we'd been granted thus far on werewolves. Well, Leah was sulking still, Seth was outside shooting hoops, and I was doing all the sorting. I'd broken down so far that I'd made a fact list, a pros vs. cons list, a family tree diagram of who all could have the possibility of becoming a werewolf, and I wrote three whole pages on why the cons list only included things that were cons for non-Pack members. And that's not counting the pages I'd written on the possible explanations for why I had the ability, it seemed, to break an Alpha Order.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

I shifted my stance on the sand of First Beach. Around six thirty, Leah'd finally stomped downstairs from her bedroom and announced that she and I were off to First Beach to await the Council. An hour and a half later, the sun was still up and the Council was nowhere to be seen.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

Leah crossed her arms over her chest. Upon arrival, she had informed me that speaking was probably not the greatest idea with her at the moment. I agreed. I didn't think I could form a proper sentence anyway, I was so nervous. So we just stood side by side, silent as a graveyard, waiting for the sun to set.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

Well, maybe silence was a bit of a stretch.

After all, I didn't think that someone with as much fire in them as Leah could ever be silent. Still.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

In order to stop myself from snapping at the rather imposing Quileute beside me to stop that _goddamn tapping_, I asked her cautiously, "So do you think they forgot or something?" The sun was almost halfway down on the horizon, and other than a family way down the beach packing up their kids and their stuff, there wasn't another soul to be seen. Leah simply shrugged and began to pick at her fingernail polish.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap._

I grit my teeth. _Stop, Bella. Calm down. _I looked over to the family down the beach, watching them pack up their little red minivan and drive off. I looked back at the sun, where I could just see the last moments of it's descent.

Behind us, someone cleared their throat, and I spun around to see eight elderly men arranged in a perfect line behind us. _Holy shit. I thought the wolves were the only ones who could sneak up on people like that._ Some of the men on the Council I knew, like Harry Clearwater, Billy Black, and Old Quil. That didn't make any of them less terrifying in that moment.

_I've never seen Harry look like that before._ Harry Clearwater and his son were a lot alike. The most obvious similarity about them was their sunny dispositions. Harry displayed none of that here. He wore the same somber, fathomless expression that Old Quil wore all the time.

Billy spoke first. "Isabella Marie Swan, Leah Hannah Clearwater. You both have been brought before the Council tonight so that we may all understand what your intentions are concerning your knowledge of the Spirit Warriors."

A thin man with two braids of pure white hair standing next to Old Quil said in a creaky voice, "The ancient secrets of our tribe are precious to us. Leah Clearwater, you have grown up with these stories and know their meaning. You know the legends, what little we reveal to our youth."

He turned to me, his beady eyes piercing my own. "You, Bella Swan, know not the value of what you posses. You know not the price of what becoming a tribe member would be, no matter the price of becoming a mate to a Spirit Warrior. Nor the honor of either. We are not sure of your worth to us, those who do not know you."

"Sam's wolf chose me for a reason, sir. I don't think it was a decision made lightly." _Holy fuck, Bella. You're such an idiot._ I honestly didn't know where that retort had come from. But I was so tired of everyone telling me that Sam's imprint had been some kind of mistake or something. That I wasn't worth anything to these people. That same stirring of iron I'd felt earlier today with Seth began to circle low inside of me.

Old Quil nodded. "The wolf has chosen you, yes. But do you choose the wolf, without knowing the price?"

_What price are they talking about?_ I quickly reviewed all of my conversations with Sam on the subject of joining the pack. _"Unless you become a full member of the tribe, renouncing ties to all but flesh and blood…"_

But what did that mean? Old Quil was speaking again. "Leah Clearwater, your family has been a part of the Ancient blood since the second Pack. You have already pledged your allegiance to the tribe, and therefore to the Pack. Being a possible future member of the Pack," Here Harry stiffened a little, but Old Quil continued, "We do not require you to pledge your loyalty until your twenty first year has come and gone. If a Spirit Warrior you should become, there are other vows you will recite."

He looked back to me. "But you, Isabella Swan, need to make your decision. Even though your soul and that of Samuel Uley's have joined, you can never be truly mated unless you join the Pack."

Another member of the council, with startlingly blue eyes, said almost hatefully, "A paleface has never before been so close to our secrets. Why, do you think, the Alpha Wolf chose you?"

Something about the way he spoke set that iron feeling reeling. So that's what this was about. If their reluctance had been because they really didn't think that I was good enough for Sam, I probably could've handled that. But to suggest that Sam, that their Alpha, that _my wolf_ made a mistake in choosing a mate? Blood began to pound in my veins, my body straightened tall, and I spoke back with ice in my words. "Do you dare question the judgment of your Alpha?" _Where did that come from?_

I felt the divide again, and I barely registered curiosity and confusion from Sam underneath the fire of pure fury that was uncurling within me. "How dare you."

The man with the blue eyes glared. "How dare I? How dare you, little girl. You are not of our tribe, you share not our beliefs. You do not deserve the knowledge you possess. You do not deserve to be mated to a Wolf."

I drew myself higher. I'd had enough. I felt as if something very powerful was unfurling inside of me, trying to break free. "You know not of what you speak. You know nothing of the Wolf's reasoning behind his choice." My words turned a strange tone of resonance, of power. My hands began to shake. "You know nothing. If the Wolf chooses me, I choose the Wolf."

I realized that by now, I was standing in front of the man with blue eyes. And instead of seeing the hate from before, I saw fear. My upper lip twisted in disgust as I told him, "The actions of your Alpha are not yours to judge. Nor yours to know." I felt lightheaded, almost dizzy. I didn't know what I was saying anymore, but the words just kept coming.

The man's blue eyes were truly frightened, and some devilish part of me rejoiced in it. How dare he threaten the authority of my wolf? He would learn. They all would. I looked around to the other seven members, all of whom had frozen in place, watching me like prey watch their predator.

My mouth spoke again. "Never again question the decision of your Alpha. Never again question the judgment of any Spirit Warrior." I turned back to the man with blue eyes. I practically growled at him, "Punishment for not heeding my words would be most unpleasant."

_You said what now?_ Although my mind was bewildered by the way my mouth was behaving, my mouth still kept going. "What I find to be absolutely unacceptable here is that your Alpha's imprint is asking you for help, and for information. And is receiving neither."

I stepped back to stand next to Leah, feeling calmer, though none of the iron in my veins went away. Old Quil's head was cocked slightly to the side, his eyes fixed intently on me, studying me.

"You are most strange, Isabella Swan." At my cool look, he continued, "It seems to me that you are correct. It was not our place to judge our protectors. However, it is our place to educate. If you so choose, I can tell you something of how the wolves first came to be. This would help you realize their importance in our lives."

I nodded. "I want to learn more about what my life is becoming." Because otherwise, I'd be just as worthless as they already thought I was. And to me, that was unacceptable, because I knew that since Sam's Wolf thought I was worthy, then I must be so.

Old Quil cleared his throat and began. "This is the story of the great Chief Taha Aki. Taha Aki was a man of peace and was known for his wisdom. However there was one man named Utlapa who believed that they should use their magic to expand their control over the Hohs and the Makahs, building an empire. When the spirit warriors left their bodies their minds were all connected with each other. Taha Aki did not like what Utlapa wanted and banned him from the tribe. Utlapa left and hid in the nearby forest.

"Taha Aki was vigilant and protected his people even when there was no danger. Every so often, the Spirit Chief would leave the village to a sacred and secret place in the mountains. He would leave his body behind and searched the surrounding areas for any dangers or threats. One day, Utlapa followed Taha Aki planning to kill him, but as he waited for him to leave his body he hatched another plan. Utlapa left his body, took Taha Aki's body, and killed his own. Taha Aki knew immediately what was happening when Utlapa joined him in the spirit world. He raced back to his sacred place but was too late. He followed his body in his spirit self down to the tribe. For weeks he watched with despair as Utlapa made sure everyone believed he was Taha Aki. Then Utlapa's first edict came: no warrior was to enter the spirit world because he had a vision of danger, but in truth he was afraid of Taha Aki. Utlapa took liberties with the tribe that no one ever dreamed of. He took a second and a third wife, even though Taha Aki's wife still lived. Eventually, Taha Aki brought a great wolf down the mountains to kill Utlapa and free the tribe, but Utlapa only hid from it behind his warriors. The wolf ended up killing a young man, making Taha Aki's grief greater.

"Taha Aki had been away from his body long enough to be in agony. He felt doomed of never being ever to cross the line between life and death. The great wolf followed him through the forest and Taha Aki felt jealous of the animal; at least it had a body and a life. At that moment the Spirit Chief had an idea that changed the future of the Quileutes. He asked the animal if he could share his body with him and the wolf complied. As a single being, the wolf and the man went to the village. The people feared the wolf, shouting for the warriors' help. The warriors came with spears in their hands, but they stopped in surprise of what the wolf was doing: the wolf was retreating from the warriors and trying to yelp the songs of their people. The warriors realized what it was doing and could only think that it was being influenced by a spirit.

"An old warrior, Yut, disobeyed the orders of the false chief and left his body. Yut gathered the truth in an instant and welcomed Taha Aki. Almost instantly, Utlapa realized what had happened and raced towards Yut's body with his knife. The other warriors were confused. Yut went back into his body but could not fight Utlapa off before warning the others, as he was too old. Taha Aki watched as Yut's spirit left the world and he returned to the wolf's body feeling a great rage. The wolf shuddered and transformed into a man before the eyes of the warriors. The man did not look like Taha Aki's body, but like his spirit self, which the warriors recognized instantly. Utlapa tried to run but Taha Aki had the strength of the wolf and killed him. Upon realization of what had happened, everything returned to normal. The only change he kept in place was the forbidding of spirit travel. From then on he was known as the Great Wolf or the Spirit Man. He led the tribe for many years because he did not age. He fathered many sons, who in time found that they too could turn into wolves on reaching manhood. However, they were all different because the wolf form reflected the spirit of the man. Some became warriors like Taha Aki and did not age, others did not like to transform, and started to age."

As Old Quil's voice faded, I found myself better able to understand what was at stake. It wasn't just my life that these boys, no these men, were protecting. It was a whole civilization. It was centuries of history, of secrets, of magic, of blood, sweat and tears. They were protecting something too precious to imagine. And by doing so, they had to fight off things like vampires.

"Where do vampires come in, in all this?" I'd kind've gone off of the assumption that the wolves had been created specifically to fight vampires, when I now realized vampires had, until recently I guess, a small blip on their radar of Things-To-Worry-About.

Billy grinned. "That's a story for another time, my dear. You now know as much about our Warriors as we can tell you. The rest will have to wait."

I glanced at all eight men before me. "Wait? Why does it have to wait?" What was it that these old men were hiding from everyone?

The oldest man there lifted his snow white head. His face was so worn and leathery looking I was beyond guessing his age. His deepset eyes were darker and wiser than even Old Quil's. His frail body looked ready to turn to dust even as he sat in his wheelchair. "Because of the signs, dear girl."

His voice was surprisingly deep and rich, rivaling even Sam's. "The signs of change, of prosperity in danger, of power in weakness, and the sign of completion." His voice got stronger, ringing out over the beach. "There will come a night, when the last wolf will phase, and the Spirit Wolves will have finally reunited. The Wolves will rejoice, and will grow stronger than any single Wolf or Pack before them. But even the strongest Wolf does not matter when there is nothing to protect. Each Wolf will seek something specific."

And with that, he bowed his head once more. Leah spoke almost cautiously, "So what do you want from us?"

Old Quil nodded. "Nothing, as things stand now. When the last Wolf phases, that might change." His eyes found mine. "Everything might change."

**Monday, September 23 2:01 A.M. La Push, WA BPOV**

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

I rolled over, mumbling, "Leah, stop tapping your feet." Then I remembered we weren't on First Beach anymore, we were in Leah's bedroom.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

So who was doing that stupid tapping? I sat up, rubbing my sleepy eyes against the darkness. Leah mumbled something in her sleep from her bed. Not wanting to disturb the beast and incur its wrath, I quietly rose from my sleeping bag and tip-toed to the window.

Sam's hulking form stood outside, holding what I guessed was rocks. _Oh my god. Werewolves throw rocks at windows too_. I felt my stomach soar up to lodge itself in my throat. What was he doing here? Sam beckoned with one large hand towards himself. _Well, what are you standing here for like an idiot? There's a hot man down there who wants to see you!_ I gave him a _wait_ signal, before heading downstairs.

It was chilly outside, and since my bandages were still firmly attached, thank you Sue, I was wearing a tank top to bed, instead of my normal longsleeves. I shivered as a cold breeze blew past me. Sam's arms were around me before I saw him move. Again. Damn those wolf abilities. I snuggled further into his bare chest.

"If you didn't plan on coming to see me to start something, you should've worn a shirt." Sam chuckled at my playful tone.

"I like your choice of pajamas too, by the way." I grinned. His chest rumbled when he spoke, and I could feel the vibrations of his voice down in my belly. I sighed. We really didn't see each other enough.

I felt like I was cold all the time. And Sam's body heat was actually an amazing feature right now. I whispered, "What did you come see me for?"

One of his hands began to stroke my hair. "I was patrolling all day, and instead of coming to see you, I accidently crashed on my couch."

I giggled. "Nice, Sam." He 'hmph'ed.

We stood there for a few more seconds before Sam asked, "How did your meeting with the Council go?" I didn't know how Sam knew about the meeting, but that was a question for another time.

"They were cranky at first, but I finally got some answers out of them. Little bastards." Sam let a bark of laughter loose, surprising me by how close it sounded to actual barking. I grinned. _Sometimes they really do act like animals._ I continued, "The Council doesn't want me to join the Pack-" Sam's body hardened in an instant. His arms locked around me, I heard his heartbeat speed up, and a low growl rose from his muscular chest.

"Sam, what-" One of his massive hands grabbed a handful of my hair and yanked my head to the side, revealing my bruised neck to him. _Sometimes they really do act like animals._

The growling got louder. "Can't keep you from us." His Alpha voice was back. I knew without looking that his eyes were getting that golden rim in them. His wolf was coming out to play. I felt around for his emotions, recoiling when I found a wall of possessive anger and desire.

His head dipped down so that his mouth grazed where he'd bruised me. "You are ours." Heat uncurled in my belly, drifting lower. Something about when Sam let the guard around his wolf drop turned me on. He was wild, he was feral.

_Bite him._ My eyes snapped open. I was supposed to do what now? _Bite him._ The voice sounded like mine, but different. It sounded like my voice had on the beach, and when I'd broken Sam's order to Seth. This was the imprint's voice. _Bite him!_

Acting on instinct, I turned my head and pressed a hot, open mouth kiss to his neck before sinking my teeth into his skin on the same spot that he had bitten me. Sam's arms gripped me so tight I could barely breathe, his hard dick rubbing into my belly through our clothes as he roared his approval.

I could taste something coppery on my tongue, and I was surprised I'd bitten him hard enough for it to bleed. Around the skin, I said in that voice like iron, "Then you are mine."

I released him, and he lifted his head to stare at me. His eyes were pure gold, rippling like waves in the ocean. He snarled at me, revealing that his incisors had elongated. "Ours!" His voice sounded like his Wolf's howl, there was no trace of humanity left in it. There was nothing human about either of us, in that moment.

I bent my head to the side, showing him my bruised skin, part of me knowing, probably the imprint part, that he was going to lay a claiming mark if I let him. His human control was gone, and all that was left was the wolf.

"I am yours." He lunged forward, roaring in success as his teeth broke my skin. I cried out in pain, my vision flashing white. I felt Sam's emotions clearer than ever before, but it was more than that. It was like I knew exactly what the Wolf was doing right now, what a Claiming Mark meant to a Wolf. Now that I bore his Mark, I would always be his. His Wolf was asserting its ownership of me.

_I am going to be so bruised tomorrow at school._ But I really didn't care, because I knew that Sam's Wolf, and Sam himself, were going to take a selfish delight in seeing the marks they'd left on my skin. Because I was one step closer to being completely theirs. Sam's mouth unlatched itself from my neck and he pulled away. My vision focused in, and a slow grin curled across my face.

Sam's neck had already healed, but a very clear and precise set of my teeth marks scarred his russet skin. If I was theirs, they were mine.

**A/N:** I am an asshole. I am. I AM SO SORRY. I CANNOT APOLOGIZE ENOUGH FOR THE TIME SPENT AWAY. Writers block, school, camps, jobs, fucking LIFE hated me for forever, there. So I decided to speed the story up a little bit. Sam and Bella are mad at me though. They didn't want to have a cute moment, which is why I started with the whole throwing rocks at the window thing. Uh-huh. They weren't having it. So…this happened. And the beach scene with the Council… We'll get into that whole hornet's nest later. I'm back baby! I'm back for good!


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